Florida man does not regret turning his dog into mini Pikachu even after citation

At the end of December 2022 a Florida man went viral after bringing his dog, who had been dyed to look like a Pikachu, to a Miami Heat game. Not only did he go viral because his dog looks like a mini Pikachu, and it caused a bit of commotion online with people, but he also had to deal with the fact that technically he had broken a Miami ordinance by having done this particular grooming procedure on his dog.

While most of Florida does not have an issue with dogs being groomed in this rather colorful manner, in the county of Miami, Dade, it is in fact against the law. And this led to a citation against the dog’s owner, Erik Torres. (Torres did in fact pay this fine, but he did say that he believes that others should also have to pay the fine since he is not the only person who has ever groomed their dog to be colorful in the Miami county.)

However, even with a fine and the mixed reaction from people around the world, it’s clear that Torres does not regret what happened. In fact, his response is that now his dog is “world famous.” And not only does he appreciate the fact that his dog is now world famous, but it seems that he has no intention of changing the fact that his dog is dyed to look like a Pikachu. Instead, he says that his dog is going to stay like this as long as possible.

Florida man does not regret dying his dog to look like a Pikachu

According to NBC Miami, Torres was one of the first people to actually receive a citation for this particular ordinance which was established in 2008. And while he may not be the last, based on the fact that he does not regret what happened, and has no intention of changing his dog back to his normal appearance, it does seem like he may have to pay this fine again.

Kathleen Labrada, assistant director of Miami-Dade Animal Services, explained that,

"Clearly the ordinance is to protect the animals. We don’t want animals being chemically dyed and subjected to anything that may cause them harm."

And she also pointed out that if Torres leaves the dye job that makes his dog look like a Pikachu he will continue to deal with more fines. According to her, “if he continues to color the dog’s fur, they will issue additional citations.”

While there are safe dyes on the market that do allow people to change the color of their dogs for, we also appreciate the fact that there is a law in place meant to protect animals. And even if there are dogs safe, dies on the market, it does go against the law of where Torres is in Florida.

We don’t know what will happen next with this story, but it is clear that, at least, for now there is a mini Pikachu running around in Florida’s Miami-Dade County.