Fact Check: Did Pam Bondi Take Dog From Family Displaced by Katrina?

President-elect Donald Trump’s new nominee for U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi, has received fresh scrutiny after replacing former Florida Representative Matt Gaetz.

Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, has emerged as Trump’s new pick for U.S. attorney general after Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration in the face of increasing pressure and pushback due to fresh allegations about sexual misconduct.

Her ties to lobbying for the Qatari government, the Church of Scientology, and her decisions as an attorney general, such as postponing an execution so she could attend a campaign fundraiser, have faced fresh focus in the past few days.

On social media, commentators also mentioned claims that Bondi had taken in a dog from a family displaced by Hurricane Katrina but refused to return it.

The Claim

A post on X, formerly Twitter, by left-leaning campaigner @billifer1973 on November 24, 2024, viewed 267,600 times, said: “Never forget that Trump’s new AG nominee, Pam Bondi, took in a family’s St. Bernard when they were displaced after hurricane Katrina, and then refused to return him.

“The family had to sue, and it took 16 months before the dog was returned to them. Deplorable.”

The Facts

As unusual as this story seems, it did happen, but it deserves additional background and explanation.

As reported by the Tampa Bay Times in 2010, as Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, the Couture family from New Orleans, Louisiana, left their dog, Master Tank, at a temporary animal shelter. The Humane Society of Pinellas County later received Tank alongside more than 280 other animals.

Bondi adopted Tank, a Saint Bernard, in October 2005, renaming him Noah. However, when the Coutures tracked down the dog, Bondi refused to return him, saying the dog had heartworms and other problems before the hurricane. The family sued, but the case was settled before trial, with the dog returned to the Coutures.

When the Tampa Bay Times asked whether she was concerned by any reputational damage caused by the story, Bondi said, “Not at all.”

“I’ve received a tremendous amount of support from people and animal rights activists and no criticism at all,” she added.

“Really, it has not been an issue.”

Newsweek reached out to a representative for Donald Trump via email and Bondi through her law firm, Ballard Partners, via a contact form, respectively, for comment.

The Ruling

Needs Context.

In 2005, Pam Bondi adopted a dog left at a temporary shelter after Hurricane Katrina. Bondi did not return the dog after the family tracked it down, alleging health issues it had pre-Katrina. The family sued, but the case was settled, and the dog was returned.

FACT CHECK BY Newsweek’s Fact Check team