The prize for creepiest right wing Governor goes to ...

Shortly after winning the GOP nomination in 2010, Rick Scott announced to the world through Facebook that his family had rescued a Labrador Retriever.

And, with help from his Facebook friends, Scott gave it a name: Reagan.

"The Scott family is proud to announce that the name (chosen by you) for their newly adopted pup is Reagan! Thanks to everyone who participated in the fun contest,'' read Scott's announcement on his Facebook page.

Commenters were ecstatic, congratulating Scott for getting a rescue dog instead of a pure bred like Bo, the Portuguese Water Dog President Barack Obama adopted in 2009. And friends saluted the dog's name, an homage to former President Ronald Reagan.

"What a great looking dog! Glad you rescued him. Reagan will like the Governor's Mansion!" wrote Christine Haut of Fort Myers.

"Welcome Reagan! What a great family," wrote Debbie Wiest, a friend of Ann Scott's for 40 years.

But where is Reagan today?

The last time Reagan made the newspapers was the day before Scott was sworn in as governor in January 2011. John Kennedy, then a reporter for the News Service of Florida, reported seeing the governor-elect walking Reagan in Tallahassee.

Asked last week what had happened to the dog, Scott's current and former communications directors refused to answer.
[...]
On Monday, the Times asked the governor to clear up the mystery.

"He was a rescue dog,'' Scott said, "and he couldn't be around anybody that was carrying anything, and so he wouldn't get better."

Scott said Reagan never bit anyone but "scared the living daylights'' out of people at the mansion. He said one kitchen employee threatened to quit and photographer Eric Tournay was frightened when the dog "barked like crazy'' every time he saw him with a camera.

So the Scotts gave the dog back to his prior owner, Scott said, about a month after the family moved to Tallahassee. The governor's office on Monday told the Times it was trying to find Reagan and its new family.