Apollo was found abandoned, tied to a pole with his friend, Venus (who is now also safe in foster care), and who wound up in a high kill animal control facility. He is about 3 years old and is a wonderful dog who loves everyone he meets and gets along well with other dogs. He quickly became a volunteer favorite with his loving personality.
During his exam prior to his neuter it was discovered that apparently, during that altercation while being held in the local animal control facility, Apollo suffered far more serious injuries than originally thought. He had 2 broken teeth and also had a fracture of the bone on the roof of his mouth. The fracture caused a hole in the roof of his mouth that punctured through to his nasal passages.
This is called a oronasal fistula. It is very serious because food and water can go from the mouth into the nose and go into the lungs. It can also get severely infected. Both of these can cause severe infections in the lungs and aspiration pneumonia, which can be deadly.
Poor Apollo needed immediate surgery to repair oronasal fistula. The surgery is delicate and has to be done by someone with much experience doing this type of surgery, so Apollo went to the Dental specialists at Animal Medical Center in NYC on September 24, 2014 for surgery to repair the defect.
The surgery is also expensive and was estimated to cost $2000.00. The sponsoring rescue was now faced with a huge debt which was not anticipated when he was originally pulled -- but because he is such a spectacular dog, they decided to go forward anyway and set up a You Caring fund for his surgery costs in the hopes that other animal lovers in the community could help them bear that cost. That fund is located at this link: You Caring Fund for Apollo
His foster Dad and rescue group in Canada were still eagerly awaiting his arrival but it was to be delayed until Apollo healed and got a clean bill of health.
......waiting..........
....waiting.......
Hmmm...maybe I have time for a selfie....?
Finally!! Here is Apollo's team with the handsome boy.
Apollo did great at Animal Medical Center. That huge hole in the roof of his mouth was already starting to heal 2 days later when the dental specialist examined him. The Doctor was amazed and called Apollo "bionic" since these lesions don't usually heal on their own. (Apollo's had healed by about 75%. Since the surgery has a lot of complications associated with it, it was decided to wait and see how much healing Apollo could do on his own).
He was rechecked on October 16, 2014 and amazingly, he was fully healed! He was such a good boy that he even allowed his mouth and wound to be examined without sedation.
NEXT CHAPTER:
His vets and sponsors would like to thank everyone who has donated so generously because without that help, a wonderful dog would not have been saved. In the meantime there is still several hundred dollars due and owing for his surgery and we would be so grateful if everyone reading this posting would donate just a few dollars. After all - It takes a village to Save America's Dog....
Here is that link for his You Caring account:
Apollo's You Caring Account for Surgery Costs
