BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. — A dog once abandoned at a gas station in Pembroke Park has found a new home -- and a new name.

Michael Puente says he and his girlfriend felt they were meant to give the dog, once known as Scooter, a second chance.

“There are people out there. You don’t have to leave a dog tied to a pole,” Puente said.

Puente first saw the viral video showing the dog tied to a pole at a gas station along West Hallandale Beach Boulevard. Determined to find the dog, he returned to the gas station and even checked with Pembroke Park police, but initially came up empty.

He later learned the dog had been taken to the Broward animal shelter.

After waiting a few days for approval, Puente was finally able to adopt the Dalmatian-pointer mix.

“I kept deciding I’m going to keep going and I want to meet him,” Puente said. “If I can’t save him, I want to foster him. If I went through all the work, I want to see what I can do and now, I finally found them, met him and instantly I was like, he’s mine.”

The dog now has a new name: Zenki.

“Zenki is essentially a first gen in Japanese culture for cars,” Puente said. “He is my first generation dog. He’s my first rescue, my first pet, so I decided to name him Zenki. They named him scooter here cause he’s obviously everywhere.”

Puente says the connection was immediate.

“He’s with me. He’s throwing his back on me,” he said. “I think he feels the security. I think he feels safe. Dogs can tell a lot.”

Shelter officials also want to remind the public that abandoning an animal is illegal. They say they waited three days for the owner to come forward before the dog was made available for adoption.

Now settled into his new home, Zenki already has an older sister -- a 10-year-old dog. His new family hopes his energy will be just what she needs.

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