Apollo is only one year and four months old. He’s spent most of his life at Greenbelt Animal Shelter, where he arrived last July. He had been caged and starved in a Greenbelt apartment and was days away from death when he was discovered and rescued by Greenbelt officers last summer. In the following months he was unadoptable, housed at the shelter, but living evidence in one of the most horrific animal abuse cases Greenbelt Animal Control has had to prosecute.
Officers originally responded to a home in Greenbelt last July when a resident called for them to pick up a deceased dog. They couldn’t tell at first that the “flat black” remains in the cage had been a dog. The owner claimed the dog had been fed the previous night but couldn’t produce any food or empty packages. Then, as officers asked more questions, they heard the sound of three other dogs. Bruno, Zeus and Apollo were caged in another room.
Bruno had a shiny coat, trimmed nails and seemed well-cared for, but Zeus and Apollo were near death, said Ricardo Dennis of the Greenbelt Police Department. Apollo and Zeus were completely emaciated, explained Walter Rivas-Flores, Greenbelt Animal Control’s Supervisor. “It’s hard to really describe what it’s like when you see an animal that skinny. They couldn’t even stand up … they didn’t have the energy to do it,” says Rivas-Flores. Apollo’s back legs had atrophied.
While Bruno, the healthy dog, went on to Prince George’s County Animal Shelter, Apollo and Zeus were evidence in the animal cruelty case that concluded in November with several charges against the owner. Zeus was adopted by one of the Greenbelt police officers who got to know him and lives outside Prince George’s County (Zeus is a pitbull). No longer evidence, Apollo, suspected to be a hound-Great Dane mix, is still living at Greenbelt’s shelter and is now free to be adopted.
He’s sweet, friendly, housetrained and leash trained. He doesn’t really bark and he’s smart and food-motivated, which helps with training, says Rivas-Flores. He could run up to five miles with you but he’s also happy to nap on a couch. “He’s very adaptable,” says Rivas-Flores. He’s affectionate and not reactive to people. He’s selective about which dogs he likes, however, and would like to find a home where he’s the only dog.
At not even a year and a half, “his whole life has either been locked up in a kennel in someone’s apartment starving, here in our facility, which is better but he’s still just in a kennel for the most part throughout the day [and] for seven weeks he was in a foster home,” says Rivas-Flores. He did well in the home but had to be returned to the shelter due to a family emergency. He also made great strides curbing his reactivity to other dogs while there. He hasn’t had the opportunity to interact with many other dogs so far, so he’s still learning, but the animal control officers have seen him do well with some dogs close-up.
Apollo’s favorite pastimes include long walks, playing with toys, lounging around and getting lots of snuggles. He recently had his first swimming lesson, donated by Canine Fitness Center in Crownsville.
Those interested in fostering or adopting Apollo or meeting some of the other adoptable dogs at the shelter, email animalcontrol@greenbeltmd.gov or call 301-474-6124 for more information. All adoptions are by appointment at this time.
