Apollo was born on October 5, 2014 in Tennessee. He was adopted by a man in Detroit who soon discovered he didn't have the time to care for a young rambunctious puppy. We had just gotten a puppy, Tundra (born October 6, 2014 in Tennessee), in early December 2014. On the day we said goodbye to our sweet Koko on January 16, 2015, we were told that a puppy that Tundra was raised with needed a new home and if we were interested in bringing him home. We had three dogs at the time and had no desire to get a fourth, especially another puppy! We had spent a small fortune on tests and treatments for our Koko for cancer and money was tight. I prayed that this sweet adorable ball of fluff would have a new home by Monday morning. After I ended my prayer, opening the mail, there was a check.. for EXACTLY the amount of money needed to make him ours. He was truly a gift from God. He came home to us in New Mexico on that Monday.

Apollo was not the name he was given in Detroit. As soon as we saw his picture, he seemed like an Apollo to us; Healer (of our broken hearts) protector (very protective of his home and humans), physically superior (AKC registered and beautiful boy), and destroyer (especially in thunderstorms!) He was the addition our little family needed that we didn't know we needed.

Apollo and Tundra loved to play with one another. They were constantly side by side. We would separate them on occasion to make sure they would each get individual attention.

Apollo firmly attached himself to his human Mom and Dad. He could've been named Roadblock because he was always where we were. I'd have to step over him getting out of bed, step over him in the kitchen, over doorways, laying on our feet, hogging the bed, any place he could "protect" us. He'd lay next to the door when we left the house. We'd have to move him out of the way to get in!

We spent almost 6 years in Tennessee where he loved "his" grassy yard. He loved being outside! Whether it was snowing, ice covered, or hot and humid, he'd be outside. He hated loud noises, thunderstorms, lightning and rain.

We recently moved from Tennessee to Texas. He handled the numerous trips back and forth like a champ! He loved getting his special treats of chicken nuggets, hamburger patties, and puppiccinos. He mastered riding on elevators and those he met adored him.

We started noticing he wasn't eating with his normal robust appetite. We changed his food, gave him canned food, scrambled eggs, anything to help him put weight on. Weeks of antibiotics, adding steroids and probiotics didn't seem to improve his condition and he was getting thinner and weaker by the day. We had an appointment with two different veterinarians to run tests on him to determine what was going on. Two days before one of those appointments, he completely stopped eating and I had to carry him in the house. It was during a long weekend and we were concerned he wouldn't make it to his appointment and we didn't want him to suffer. Suspecting cancer, the agonizing decision to say goodbye was made. Apollo died with tears flowing down our faces on August 31, 2025. He was 5 weeks shy of his 11th birthday.

We are eternally grateful to the on-call Veterinarian (can't remember her name) of High Plains Animal Hospital in Borger, who came in on a Sunday afternoon to help us determine if we were making the best decision for our boy. Likewise, we are forever thankful to Furrever Pet Crematory for taking care of Apollo's final arrangements.

We miss our boy. Forever Loved, Never Forgotten.

Hard to summarize all the love and joy of having him in our lives for almost 11 years.

Hope this helps you to get to know our boy a little bit.

Patrica and Richard Davis
Apollo's Mom and Dad