A judge on Thursday pushed back a criminal case that went viral over a man accused of abandoning his bull terrier tied to a fence along Interstate 75 in the face of an approaching major hurricane. Giovanny Aldama Garcia, 23, of Ruskin, east of St. Petersburg, is facing a felony aggravated animal cruelty charge in a case that drew the attention of Gov. Ron DeSantis, national outrage – and a proposed new state law in Florida. He faces up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. “You don’t just tie up a dog and have them out there for a storm,” DeSantis said after Aldama Garcia’s arrest in October. “It’s totally unacceptable and we’re going to hold you accountable.” The state attorney, Suzy Lopez, whose office is prosecuting Aldama Garcia, previously called herself a dog owner and dog-lover and said tying a pet to a fence ahead of a Category 5 hurricane was absolutely impossible for her to imagine. On Thursday, in a brief hearing in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, Judge G. Gregory Green set the date for the next stage of the case to be March 31. Aldama Garcia had previously notified the judge he did not plan to attend the hearing and would be represented by his defense lawyer, Tony Lopez of Tampa. Lopez wasn’t available after the hearing to discuss the case against his client. The dog, renamed Trooper in honor of the Florida Highway Patrol officer who rescued him, was adopted by a family in South Florida, Frank and Carla Spina of Parkland, and underwent successful surgery in December to remove two cancerous tumors on his left side. MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/hillsboroughcounty/dog-abandoned-hurricane-major-health-scares-previous-owner-faces-criminal-case-tampa/67-28cb90c2-6869-4975-b3ce-6cd4491ce952