Apollo Diaz

Apollo’s story: I was working as a kennel tech at a pet resort in Katy, Texas in 2012. We had adopted a 5 year old Shar Pei in January of that year from CAP in Houston, TX and when I got the job in April at the pet resort, she would come along. This is where we met little Apollo together. The manager of the resort would have chihuahua (and chihuahua mixes) shipped over from California. They were abundantly roaming the streets due to their popularity and were in a kill shelter. So, each month, 30 dogs were sent to the resort, quarantined, and prepared to be adopted out, given a new lease on life. Apollo was in one of the batches we had gotten in August, and I immediately felt drawn to him. He was tested with my oldest at the time, since he hadn’t been cleared yet for a child-having family, and his instant reaction was to run to my son and jump on him and lick his face and wag his little tail all over. It was with such excitement the force knocked him on his back and he just laughed and laughed. We hadn’t known his story, other than he was roaming the streets of California, rummaging through garbage and had humorously been misclassified as a beagle mix. We knew he was neutered April 10 of 2009, so we used that as his birthday (a new man after all). We had already considered adding another dog to the mix as our Shar Pei, Sadie, had intense bouts of anxiety (she was left at the vet for over 6 months by her family, the vet turned her over to the shelter when they never came back, so abandonment issues were extreme in her case). This arrangement worked like a charm! She never had the anxiety fits again with Apollo to keep her company, and even though he was the newest member to the bunch, Apollo was possessive and even tried claiming me from Sadie. It was a funny interaction to see the two, but we all acclimated very well fairly quickly, and the two couldn’t part. Apollo’s paperwork came through CAP in August of 2012, and we’ve been together ever since – though briefly parted which I’ll touch on later. He had grown with my oldest, who was an only child at the time in 1^st grade all the way through his senior year of high school, and was a lap dog still throughout my second pregnancy. He spent almost 8 years with my second before crossing the rainbow bridge. He accompanied us on our family trips to the beach and out to the country, we love vacationing and traveling with our fur babes. He was with us for work-related moves cross state, and once while in Louisiana, he even had a wild adventure when a dog thief took him from right outside our house during his restroom break. He was gone 2 weeks before his microchip was scanned and he was brought back to us by a good Samaritan who encountered our sweet boy roaming the street (with a new collar). What the thieves didn’t know is the special diet both our dogs were on and I’m sure the upset stomach issues is why he was put outside, where he most likely escaped. With the vet clearing him, we drove him back to our city and Sadie was very happy again, and so was another addition, Max, who I spotted on one of my many trips to the shelters and vets looking for Apollo. He, too, was left by his family when the owner became pregnant, and I couldn’t leave his precious face there. He mastered the beggar look – I’m a sucker. Our Sweet Sadie passed in August of 2021, making Apollo our little alpha of the pack. Both my kids are, were, extremely close with Apollo and would argue over who got to sleep with him. He’d dress up for Halloween, themed birthdays, and even sporting events. Team spirit! We had 3 dog beds throughout the house and yet his favorite spots were on the bathroom rug or the living room’s throw basket. He loved waiting in the kitchen in hopes of someone to accidently drop bits while cooking. He had a health scare in 2021 when he ate some toxic plant in one of our new rentals and the emergency hospital kept him overnight. Luckily for us all, he pulled through, but we learned that he had a heart murmur and in time, it would get worse. His favorite activity was sunbathing all day long. This recent move to Del Rio is where Apollo ends his earthly journey with us. But we will carry him forever, just like we do his sister, Sadie. Now they are together again and can roam freely, unincumbered by any health ailments and never grow old. We will surely miss our little, old man of the family.

“Our dear Apolito, Max, Anthony, Nathaniel, Dad, & I will miss you and thank you for sharing your life with us. Your recent birthday with your favorite peanut butter treats will be a highlight we reflect on. You completed our family for the past 12 years and we were truly blessed with your antics and that unique little bark. A fabulous & beautiful fur baby in every sense. Rest easy and know we are grateful to have you looking out for us, mighty one.”

Apollo lived to be 15 in human years. 4/10/09 – 4/22/24