A dog can be a political double-edged sword: treat it well and you get lots of good press; treat it shitty and, well, just ask Mitt Romney how that worked out for him. Florida’s Republican (and wildly unpopular) Gov. Rick Scott is the latest politician to fall victim to dog-loving media. The Tampa Bay Times reveals that shortly after being elected governor, the Scott family returned a rescue dog they had adopted during the campaign back to its previous owners. Yikes.

The Labrador, pictured above, was adopted shortly after Scott won the Republican primary in 2010. A picture of it was posted to Facebook, asking Scott’s fans what the family should name its new pet. The winning name was, shock of all shocks, Reagan (keep in mind this was in the middle of the Tea Party’s Reagan-nostalgia, rabble-rousing).

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The thing is, many will jump to Scott’s defense. Anyone who has any experience with rescue dogs knows that they can be difficult and sometimes it’s just not a good fit. But did no one spend any time with Reagan before adopting it, or did a campaign aide simply choose the most photogenic pooch at the Pound for Sad Dogs™? Likely the latter. While perhaps Reagan is happy in a new home now, it says a lot about Scott’s character that he’s the kind of person who’s willing to adopt a pet and simply dump it when the dog is no longer politically advantageous.

More: Florida’s Governor Adopted a Dog for the Campaign, Promptly Returned It From Whence It Came