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.