NEED TO KNOW

• An abandoned dog in Florida just found a new forever family

• The black-and-white Dalmatian-pointer mix was left tied to a pole outside a gas station in Pembroke Park

• Michael Puente said he and his girlfriend saw a viral video of the dog and instantly knew they were meant to save the pooch

A dog tied to a pole and abandoned outside a gas station in Florida just got a second chance at a forever home.

In a viral video, a black-and-white Dalmatian-pointer mix was spotted, struggling and alone, tied up outside a gas station in Pembroke Park. Concerned citizens ultimately called police, who took the dog to a shelter.

Michael Puente said he and his girlfriend saw the viral video and instantly felt like they were meant to find and help out the pooch, according to local news outlet WPLG 10.

“I feel like it was more like a call,” he said of the moment he watched the dog in the footage. “And I answered.”

Puente told the outlet that he visited the gas station where the dog had been tied up and even checked with police, but he was initially unable to locate the canine.

However, he soon learned that the dog was taken to Broward County Animal Care, a shelter for dogs and cats.

“I kept deciding I’m going to keep going and I want to meet him,” he told WPLG 10. “I [wanted] to see what I can do, and now I finally found him, met him and instantly I was like, ‘He’s mine.’ ”

Puente filled out all of the necessary adoption papers and within a few days was approved to move forward with adoption.

He said he renamed the dog Zenki (the shelter had been calling him Scooter).

“Zenki is essentially a first gen in Japanese culture for cars,” Puente explained. “He is my first generation dog. He’s my first rescue, my first pet, so I decided to name him Zenki.”

Puente added that he already feels as though he and Zenki have bonded.

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

“There are people out there. You don’t have to leave a dog tied to a pole,” Puente added while speaking to WPLG 10.

Read the original article on People