The emotions of Hugo Leiza and his roommates overwhelmed them when they learned about a half-starved puppy chained up in a backyard just a few blocks from their home in Miami. They were simply going to rescue it, no matter the consequences. They began by heading to the residence in the Liberty City neighborhood with some food and drinks.

The dog was chained to a tree on the ground, with its ribs protruding like a twisted tee holding up its sagging jump. When they arrived, it barked but gradually allowed them to come closer. When they gave him some food, the dog devoured it all.

The residents of the residence arrived at that moment. “We walked out of the backyard, walked to the front, and talked to them,” Leiza tells The Dodo.”What’s the problem with the dog?” Leiza asked the locals.

“It’s my nephew’s dog,” the resident said. “When he moved three months ago, he left the dog behind.”And so began the journey of a dog named Ganesh, in honor of the Hindu god famous for removing obstacles and bestowing riches.

He’s a fitting broom for a dog who had his first and most lamentable impediment removed last week: a cord that had never left his beak.