Officer adopts dog caught on video being dumped by owners in Surprise

The dog whose original owners abandoned him in a Surprise neighborhood was recently adopted by a police officer.

Apr 3, 2025, 2:00 PM Updated: Apr 4, 2025, 12:17 pm

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PHOENIX — The dog whose original owners abandoned him in a Surprise neighborhood was recently adopted by a police officer.

A video that went viral last month showed Benji the two-year-old Chihuahua being released from a vehicle while one of the people said, “Bye-bye!”

An officer with the Surprise Police Department gave him a permanent home, according to a Thursday release from the Arizona Humane Society (AHS).

A spokesperson for the Surprise PD said just as employees can bring their kids to work, Benji will be welcomed to come to work any and every day.

How was the abandoned dog found in Surprise?

Last month, security cameras caught Benji’s owners pushing him out of a car and leaving him behind. Fortunately, a good Samaritan scooped him up and took Benji to the Surprise Police Department.

Police identified 20-year-old Logan Gambill and 26-year-old Priscilla Galanos as the people in the vehicle. Both face animal cruelty charges in connection to the case.

Benji was transferred to AHS where he was microchipped, vaccinated and neutered.

Last year, AHS responded to more than 10,000 animal cruelty cases.

Some of the reasons for the increase in abandoned pets are expensive home prices, evictions and a lack of affordable veterinary services, according to AHS.