Aside from the senator, his wife, and their two daughters, another member of the Cruz family is a poodle named Snowflake.

Reporter Michael Hardy snapped a photo of the dog peering longingly through the front door of the family’s Houston home. The shot quickly became a metaphor for the Texans left behind without power, heat, or safe water when Ted left for Mexico. (Don’t worry, a security guard was actually there looking after Snowflake at the time, per New York Magazine.)

Hopefully, Snowflake wasn’t too cold while waiting for his family to return home— and hopefully in the future, Senator Cruz thinks twice before using his 10- and 12-year-old daughters as scapegoats.