Cuomo responds after report he abandoned dog at executive mansion

Disgraced New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo responded late Monday following a report that he tried to give his dog Captain away during his final days in office.

The Albany Times Union reported, citing two state police sources, that Cuomo, a Democrat, left the dog behind at the Executive Mansion before he stayed with one of his sisters in Westchester County last week. 

Cuomo asked mansion staffers to take Captain, and one volunteered, but the dog – which has a history of biting people – was returned to the mansion just a few days later, the sources told the paper.

The governor, who officially resigned at 11:59 p.m. Monday, denied the claims on Twitter. 

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"Some people just can't get the facts straight," Cuomo tweeted. "Yes, I was downstate monitoring storm response for a few days, but Captain and I are a man and his dog. He is part of our family and that’s the way it will always be."

Cuomo’s top adviser and spokesman Richard Azzopardi suggested that the arrangement was only "temporary" because the governor is planning on taking a vacation.

"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 told the paper in a statement. 

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"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 — now excuse us we're preparing for a major storm," he added, referring to Tropical Storm Henri.

Cuomo announced he would step down on Aug. 10 after the New York state attorney general alleged he sexually harassed 11 women, including staffers, during his three terms in office. 

He is also being investigated for his handling of nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic.

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On Tuesday, Kathy Hochul, 62, was sworn in as New York's first female governor in a brief, private ceremony overseen by the state’s chief judge, Janet DiFiore at the state capitol in Albany.

"Honored to be officially sworn in as New York's 57th Governor," the Democrat from western New York tweeted from her new official governor account. "Looking forward to the full swearing-in ceremony with my family later this morning, and addressing the people of New York later today."

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A public swearing-in ceremony will be held for Hochul on Tuesday morning. She planned to meet with legislative leaders later in the morning and will deliver a public address.

Fox News' Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report