06/19/2026
Apollo Rocks!
'That is what his new family had to say after they adopted him!
Apollo came to us as a owner surrender. A young woman knocked on our door with him in hand and said her boyfriend bought her this dog from someone and she didn't want him. She said he was too much for her. She wasn’t sure how old he was, he had not been to a vet since she had him and he had a choke chain on instead of a regular collar. His chain had a dog tag with his name on it all chewed up. She said he was not housetrained, crate-trained and had no manners. We asked her what exactly she expected from a 6-month-old Husky pit mix that she has not taken to the vet or done any training with, and she just said she didn't want him. We had her sign a surrender form and leave him with us.
He was a little timid and would scream if we walked too fast towards him. His choke chain was too tight to pull off over his head- he obviously had it on since he was even smaller and grew into it. It was not embedded in his skin or choking him, but would have been if it had not been removed for a few more weeks. We called our friend and foster dad extraordinaire, Tom, and he came over with some bolt cutters to set our man free. We tried to change his name fearing that he had negative memories associated with the name Apollo, but he just would not come to anything else so we let it stick.
Apollo went to a new foster home shortly after arriving, but sadly, that home did not work out. There was another dog in the house, and they did not quite get along, and Apollo had some behavior issues that we pretty much expected for his age and breed mix, but the foster's home was just not the right environment for him to settle into.
So, we did what we always do, we called Tom and Katherine and asked if they could help us out again. They already had our super wild child, Gretchen, so we were hoping they would wear each other out. At that time, they also had Harriet, who was momma boss over all the fosters, and she would put them in their place as well. With the new environment, Apollo settled in nicely and finally started learning some basic manners. With doggy doors and older dogs to show him the ropes, he potty trained very quickly, and with lots of exercise, he calmed down well at night.
When the Stellar family reached out about him, we had our reservations. We worried about his energy level in a home with two young children, one just a toddler, and an adult Pomeranian. We feared that he would antagonize the little pomeranian and knock down the little boys. We were also a little bit concerned about their yard not being fenced in and him getting the exercise that he needed. We still met with the family as they sounded great themselves, and boy, were we wrong about it not being the right fit! Apollo has been excellent with the children and very respectful of their space. He is so happy playing with the family, he doesn't annoy the little pomeranian, too much at least. He loves to stay right with the family and go on long walks and hikes with them. He had zero regression in his manners and housebreaking. And despite his age and start in life, he has just been the all-around perfect dog for them! He has taken to their training like a duck in water and speaking of which, he loves going to the lake house for a swim!
Apollo is a perfect example of how adaptable and resilient dogs are in the right environment. Sometimes it takes more than once to make a match, and that's ok. That's why we do our foster and adoption program the way that we do. We learn a lot from having these dogs and cats in home environments and meet with potential adopters more than once, offering supportive care along the way. But we can only help as many of these animals as we have foster homes for. If you are interested in learning more about fostering dogs or cats please send us an email at [email protected] and we can set up an orientation to answer your questions.
Congrats to the Stellar Family!
