Gov. Andrew Cuomo left behind his dog at the Executive Mansion when he moved out last week, the Albany Times Union reported.
The New York Democrat announced Aug. 10 he was resigning from office in the wake of accusations that he sexually harassed several former and current female staff members.
The governor, whose resignation takes effect Tuesday, has been staying with one of his sisters in Westchester County.
The Times Union, citing two New York State Police sources, reported that Cuomo recently asked staff members if anyone wanted to keep his dog, Captain, a high-strung mix of shepherd, Siberian, and malamute.
A mansion staffer recently took the dog home for a few days, but decided the canine was too difficult to keep, the newspaper said.
Captain has "nipped" a few people — "and the governor would just laugh," according to a state police source — since being adopted by Cuomo, the Times Union said.
Richard Azzopardi, a senior adviser and spokesman for the governor, laced into allegations that Cuomo has been looking for someone to take Captain.
Azzopardi insisted the situation only was "temporary" because the governor was planning to take a vacation after officially leaving office at 11:59 p.m. Monday.
"Captain is part of the governor's family and for your nameless ill-informed source to imply they've been trying to give him away is untrue," Azzopardi said in a statement Saturday.
"Someone offered to watch him for a few days while the transition was ongoing but for that to be weaponized and morph from a game of telephone into the pages of your paper is absurd."
Earlier, Azzopardi said Cuomo "wants to go on vacation. They love that dog. That's not what he asked: He didn't ask to give away the dog. This nameless source is crazy."
However, a state police source said they were told Cuomo "tried giving the dog to the [a mansion employee]. ... Apparently [the employee] took the dog home and it didn't work — the dog walks him, he don't walk the dog."
People on social media were ripping Cuomo for bailing on Captain.
"People like him don’t deserve animals. The way a person treats an animal shows what type of human being he is! An animal is like your child! Would you leave your child behind?" Inspiring minds tweeted.
Cuomo first introduced Captain, then 14 weeks old in 2018, at the mansion to a delegation from the state Conference of Mayors.
Struggling to control Captain during that public introduction, Cuomo said his daughters had suggested getting the dog but were "nowhere to be found now."
"He will only urinate indoors," Cuomo said of Captain three years ago. "He has some kind of climate sensitivity that overpowers his bowel movements.”
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