Photo/Illutration The puppy and Kazushi Utsunomiya are reunited in Kobe on May 10, one month after he found the toy poodle. (Shuya Iwamoto)

KOBE--The forlorn puppy was emaciated and its fur was matted when Kazushi Utsunomiya found it by the side of a mountain road.

His intuition that the dog had been abused probably saved the animal's life.

Utsunomiya, 30, recalling his first encounter with the toy poodle that is now part of his family, said he was driving on early April 2 from his home in the city's Nada Ward to the junior high school in Kita Ward where he teaches.

The route took him on the Omote-Rokko Driveway that passes through Mount Rokkosan.

As he approached the summit, he noticed out of the corner of his eye a black shape moving faintly at the edge of the road.

Although Utsunomiya drove past, he felt something was not quite right and turned back.

He came across a toy poodle no more than five months old. It was smeared black with dirt and its face was just a ball of fur.

When Utsunomiya motioned to the puppy to come closer, it slowly approached and then hopped onto his lap. He was struck by how skinny and light the dog felt.

He put the dog in his car, and continued on his way with the pup choosing to remain on his lap.

When he arrived at the school, the teacher took the toy poodle to the faculty room but changed his mind and went to the technology room because the dog stank to high heaven.

A concerned colleague rushed to a convenience store to purchase dog food. When Utsunomiya placed the food in a bowl, the puppy gulped it down greedily.

While he was washing the dog with water from a hose, he noticed that both of its hind legs were bound with what appeared to be adhesive tape. There were also bits of tape on one of its forelegs, with small tooth marks.

Utsunomiya wasn't sure what that meant, but he didn't think the puppy had been well treated. He suspected the pup had bitten through the tape to escape.

He used a pair of scissors to trim the overgrown hair. The puppy energetically ran around the schoolyard after eating its fill.

When the teacher took the dog to an animal hospital in the city after school hours, the veterinarian urged him to contact police, saying he strongly suspected the poodle had been abused and abandoned in the mountain terrain.

The Fukiai Police Station in the city's Chuo Ward opened an investigation in suspected violations of the animal protection law after receiving a call from Utsunomiya.

Based on data gleaned from a microchip implanted in its body and other information, investigators identified the pet shop where the puppy was purchased and its owner.

Utsunomiya had intended to keep the puppy as a pet, but the police confiscated the animal on grounds it was "evidence."

One month later, the dog was treated as a lost item after the owner relinquished responsibility for the pup.

Utsunomiya visited the police station just before 6 p.m. on May 10 to take animal home. The toy poodle with fluffy brown hair came toddling out of its cage.

"Hey, long time no see," Utsunomiya said, to which the pup responded with a lively woof. He hugged the dog tightly in his arms.

After chatting with his 29-year-old wife, Utsunomiya decided to call the puppy Okoge (burned rice).

"We want to make it so happy that it won't remember those painful days," Utsunomiya said.

Having regained weight and its strength, Okoge hopped in the same car his savior was driving that day and went home with his new family.

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