‘Please don’t do this to your pets,’ police said after finding the dog
Florida police found an abandoned dog tied to a fence on the side of a major interstate as Hurricane Milton races toward the state.
The Florida Highway Patrol in Tampa found what appears to be a bull terrier tied to a chicken-wire fence near Interstate 75 on Wednesday. The dog was already knee-deep in water when officers arrived, according to video shared by the Florida Highway Patrol.
“FHP Troopers rescued a dog left tied to a pole on I-75 near Bruce B Downs Blvd this morning,” the agency wrote on X. “Do NOT do this to your pets please.”
The animal is now safe with police.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis said anyone abandoning their pets in the face of the hurricane would pay the price. He tweeted: “It is cruel for anyone to leave a dog tied to a post in the middle of an oncoming storm. FL will hold anyone who mistreats pets accountable.”
Pictures released Monday showed a mother and baby orangutan huddling together, as well as workers lifting a porcupine named “Chompers” into a crate. The zoo’s flamingos were also put into the back of a truck and moved as a herd.
“The zoo has a comprehensive severe weather plan in place to ensure the safety of our animals and team members and will take all precautions as conditions warrant,” it said in a social media post on Monday.
Larger animals such as elephants, giraffes, panthers and bears have barns or night housing that are hurricane-proof, but birds and smaller animals are being moved to kennels, Sandra Torres, vice president of marketing and communications for the zoo, previously told The Independent.
Hurricane Milton is just hours away from making landfall in Florida. The storm’s intensity has fluctuated in recent days, weakening to a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday afternoon.
However, the National Hurricane Center predicts it will be “one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida.”
High winds and storm surge are predicted to devastate the state. Many residents are under evacuation orders as the state braces for 18 inches of rainfall and up to 15 feet of storm surge.
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Their Love Story Started with Hate Letters—See How This Interracial Couple is Winning Today
Actor Leslie Uggams has had an exciting career in both theater and film.
Even with a remarkable career spanning seven decades, the singer and actress from Harlem is best known for her role in the *Deadpool* series.
However, her marriage to White Australian Grahame Pratt in 1965 challenged expectations for interracial relationships, making her life story worthy of a movie.
In 1953, Leslie, a talented singer, recorded a song for MGM when she was just 10 years old. Her aunt, soprano Eloise Uggams, recommended that she attend the famous Julliard School of Music in New York and the Professional Children’s School of New York.
But her career didn’t stop after her musical success; in 1969, she hosted *The Leslie Uggams Show,* the first network variety show hosted by a Black person since *The Nat King Cole Show.*
However, Leslie got to know and fell in love with actor Grahame Pratt behind the scenes. During one of her famous tours in Australia, the pair reconnected in Sydney after first meeting as students at the Professional Children’s School in New York.
Leslie was aware of the challenges of dating a white man because she had dated one in her youth and her aunt had discouraged her from thinking about a future with him. Leslie shared with Ebony in 1967, “I remember the shock I felt once when I was dating a white boy.”
He sent me a color photo of himself. I showed it to my aunt. He was a young, attractive man with nice hair. I thought he was very good-looking. But my aunt lectured me after she saw the picture. “Well, I guess he’s alright,” she said, “but only on dates, huh, honey? When you’re ready to settle down, you’ll marry a nice [Black] fella, won’t you?”
Leslie said that after their lucky meeting, she kept visiting Grahame.
“At just 21 years old, it was surprising that I started to fall in love with him.”
It would be a full year before she saw him again after she left Australia.
Leslie was worried about how her family would react and what would happen if Grahame moved to the U.S. for her job, but despite her worries, they had fallen in love. When they had been engaged for five months, Grahame visited her in New York.
“I wanted to know if my family would truly accept Grahame and not just tolerate him, knowing their views on mixed marriages,” she said.
Leslie didn’t have to worry because Grahame was Australian.
“Many white Americans feel awkward about their situation, but he didn’t.” He got along well with my friends, so he easily fit in with them. And both the men and women liked him.
While living in New York, Leslie said she received hate mail because of their marriage, even though they didn’t face the same racial issues as many others in the country.
In an interview with PEOPLE, Leslie said about her marriage, “It wasn’t as difficult as I expected. I think it’s because Grahame wasn’t a white man in America.” Naturally, they did receive some negative mail.
Leslie shared, “I sometimes get anonymous letters about being married to a white man when I go on tour in the United States. I remember getting one, of all places, in Detroit.” It was addressed to “The Little Negro Entertainer.” Those letters were painful to read and often used that term.
Grahame took on the role of Leslie’s manager, and the couple had two daughters, Danielle in 1970 and Justice in 1976.
Leslie got the lead role in the miniseries Roots in 1977, a year after their second child was born. For that role, she was nominated for an Emmy for her character Kizzy.
Two years later, she played Lillian Rogers Parks in the miniseries Backstairs at the White House, earning another Emmy nomination for Best Actress.
In 1983, she won a Daytime Emmy Award for hosting the NBC game show Fantasy, and in 1996 she played Rose Keefer on All My Children.
Leslie has also made appearances on shows like Family Guy, I Spy, Hollywood Squares, The Muppet Show, The Love Boat, and Magnum P.I.
After fifty-five years of marriage and a granddaughter named Cassidy, Leslie and Grahame are still happily together.
“We have a lot of fun together, but it’s not always sunshine and roses,” Leslie said about their happy marriage. “We enjoy being together.”
Their love has stood the test of time and defied expectations. They support each other because they are loyal to one another and have always helped each other.
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