Pam Bondi is known to be a dog lover, promoting adoption on her social media and rescuing dogs herself. However, the image once shifted, with critics labeling her a ‘dog thief.’ Bondi got interested in Saint Bernard at an animal shelter soon after her own Saint Bernard died in 2005.
She rescued it after it was abandoned during Hurricane Katrina. When Bondi learned that the dog’s owner was a four-year-old boy whose parents died in a murder-suicide, she hired a lawyer.
Instead of returning the dog to the boy, she got into a legal battle to win custody. Bondi renamed the dog from Master Tank to Noah and did not want the family to get him back. According to The Atlantic, the dog was dying from worms and was a walking skeleton when Bondi rescued him.
1- Pam Bondi exposed as ‘dog thief’ who got in costly standoff with 4-year-old boy. Pam Bondi reportedly hired a lawyer to stop a boy from getting back his dog that was lost during Hurricane Katrina. The now-U.S. Attorney General scooped up the emaciated Saint Bernard from pic.twitter.com/glwvuiSYat
— Howard Prince (@Howodd69) February 15, 2026
Moreover, Bondi accused the family of abusing the dog. Meanwhile, they had been struck by the disastrous hurricane Katrina and were still grieving the death of their parents. On top of that, the boy wanted his dog back. This led to a legal battle between the family and Bondi.
Doreen Couture, the 4-year-old’s grandmother, accused Bondi of lying. She stated, “My little grandson begged her to take the dog home, and she refused. She thought she would just wear us down. That we were unstable people and would just quit.”
On the other hand, Bondi has been rescuing dogs for a long time now. She once got out of her car on a busy road to chase a stray animal. That’s how much she loved animals, but when it came to returning the family’s beloved pet, she did not care.
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. pic.twitter.com/wqBw13Hcet
— Billifer 🇨🇦 (@billifer1973) November 24, 2024
The legal custody battle went on for 16 months, during which Bondi hoped to keep Noah. However, the boy’s family got back their Master Tank after a months-long legal battle. When returning the dog, Bondi promised to take care of his food and medical needs for life.
She also wanted to visit the dog and expected photos of him. This did not last for long as Doreen claimed Bondi did visit the dog for a few months, but did not reach out after that. Bondi chose to move on from the controversy and adopted another St. Bernard puppy in 2008 that she named Luke.
The controversy resurfaced again after the Atlantic piece that also pointed out how Pam Bondi has changed over the years from a local prosecutor to attorney general. After her defensive performance at the Congressional Committee hearing, many are hoping for her to resign or for Trump to fire her.
