The phrase "you can't take it with you" usually applies to the understanding that a person's accumulated wealth and worldly possessions mean nothing once that person is dead. However, for outgoing New York governor and credibly accused sex pest Andrew Cuomo, "you can't take it with you" reportedly has a much more earthly, immediate meaning, with the "it" being his dog Captain, and the "with you" being his ignominious exit from the governor's mansion.
According to the Albany Times Union, which has doggedly (heh) followed Cuomo's political implosion, the soon-to-be-ex-governor reportedly left his shepherd-Siberian husky-malamute pup Captain at his former gubernatorial residence, despite having moved out himself last week. He has also reportedly asked various staffers if they would house the dog — an offer one intrepid sitter agreed to, until Captain's bad behavior forced the employee to rescind the offer ("the dog walks him, he don't walk the dog" a police source who spoke with the Albany Times Union explained).
As you might recall, Cuomo first introduced a 14-week-old Captain to the public at a flashy press conference in 2018, explaining "this was the idea of my daughters who had to have a puppy, had to have a puppy," before spending an inordinate amount of time discussing Captain's habit of peeing on the floor.
According to the Times Union's source, however, Captain has since gone on to bite "several State Police members" as well as Cuomo's staff members. "The governor would just laugh," the source added.
In a statement released shortly after the Times Union report, New York State Animal Protection Federation Executive Director Libby Post expressed "disbelief" that Cuomo would abandon his erstwhile pet, and offered to "help Captain resolve his 'nipping' issues and adopt him into a loving, forever home."
In a series of statements and tweets, the governor's spokesperson Rich Azzopardi pushed back on the allegation that the good ship Cuomo had been left Captain-less, claiming at various points that the dog had been left in the mansion only while the governor worked elsewhere to address Hurricane Henri, that the Cuomos had simply been looking for someone to care for Captain while they went on vacation, and that Captain simply needed minding during the transition as Cuomo leaves office for good.
As for Captain himself, it's entirely possible that disassociating from the now-irrevocably tainted Cuomo brand might be the best thing to happen to a dog who is, by all indications, a very good boy.
