Apollo 10-258

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Well, say hello to Apollo who just joined the RAGOM family.  He comes to us as a stray from a shelter in the Bemidji area so nothing is known about his history.  He spent his first week at the wonderful Stone Mountain Pet Lodge getting a lot of socialization time.  Here is what we have learned in the first half day with him in a household setting.

He is a gorgeous medium-blonde boy, who LOVES attention.  He met 4 spayed girls right away (2 retriever/standard poodles, 1 retriever/mini poodle, and 1 retriever/golden lab) with no issues.  Not even one little growl from him. A couple little WHOA! little growls from the girls as they have never met anyone quite so tall!   I think Apollo was thinking he hit the all-ladies jackpot!  He even met a male gordon setter thru the fence and no issue or barking there either.  There are no kids or cats here, but will try and check that out this weekend with some willing neighbors.

He is approximately 10-14 months old (will confirm at the vet after Labor Day weekend).  He is not neutered, but that will be taken care of Thursday Sept 9th.  So for now, he is really playing up the Romeo role quite well!  He is 88 pounds of love and carries it quite well and appears to be at the right weight for him with a nice hour glass shape and is very tall. He is UTD on vaccinations but needs to be tested for heartworm.

When away from the ladies, he settles very quickly and lies down.  He is great on a leash, and doesn't resist a gentle leader.   He kennels up nicely with a treat, however, does not want to stay there with the females having free roam right now.  Can you say Hormones!!!!  He is very affectionate and when called, comes bounding towards you with tail wagging and buries his head in your lap.  He can be touched all over, toes, ears, mouth and enjoys a rubdown.

Apollo is responding to his name already and does well with Come, Sit, and Shake.  Stay needs some work, but hey, it's his first day!  He does not jump up for attention and he likes to sit on your feet (good watchdog quality!).  He must have played a lot of ball in his past as he enjoys retrieving a tennis ball and will throw it up to you.  He's pretty goofy about it and not ball obsessive.  He is very comfortable in the house and has not shown any anxieties to household sounds or settings, so he must have been an indoor dog.

 In another 6 months when his bones and joints are all developed, he would make someone a great jogging partner to burn off some energy and keep his svelt figure.  Long walks will suit him just fine too.

Stayed tuned for updates as we get to know him more.  But we sure love what we see so far!  If you are looking for Mr. Wonderful to be your companion, contact your placement advisor!

 

At a Glance #10-258

Golden Retriever Born: October 2009
Male 88 lbs

Status: Deceased

Profile

Well, say hello to Apollo who just joined the RAGOM family.  He comes to us as a stray from a shelter in the Bemidji area so nothing is known about his history.  He spent his first week at the wonderful Stone Mountain Pet Lodge getting a lot of socialization time.  Here is what we have learned in the first half day with him in a household setting.

He is a gorgeous medium-blonde boy, who LOVES attention.  He met 4 spayed girls right away (2 retriever/standard poodles, 1 retriever/mini poodle, and 1 retriever/golden lab) with no issues.  Not even one little growl from him. A couple little WHOA! little growls from the girls as they have never met anyone quite so tall!   I think Apollo was thinking he hit the all-ladies jackpot!  He even met a male gordon setter thru the fence and no issue or barking there either.  There are no kids or cats here, but will try and check that out this weekend with some willing neighbors.

He is approximately 10-14 months old (will confirm at the vet after Labor Day weekend).  He is not neutered, but that will be taken care of Thursday Sept 9th.  So for now, he is really playing up the Romeo role quite well!  He is 88 pounds of love and carries it quite well and appears to be at the right weight for him with a nice hour glass shape and is very tall. He is UTD on vaccinations but needs to be tested for heartworm.

When away from the ladies, he settles very quickly and lies down.  He is great on a leash, and doesn't resist a gentle leader.   He kennels up nicely with a treat, however, does not want to stay there with the females having free roam right now.  Can you say Hormones!!!!  He is very affectionate and when called, comes bounding towards you with tail wagging and buries his head in your lap.  He can be touched all over, toes, ears, mouth and enjoys a rubdown.

Apollo is responding to his name already and does well with Come, Sit, and Shake.  Stay needs some work, but hey, it's his first day!  He does not jump up for attention and he likes to sit on your feet (good watchdog quality!).  He must have played a lot of ball in his past as he enjoys retrieving a tennis ball and will throw it up to you.  He's pretty goofy about it and not ball obsessive.  He is very comfortable in the house and has not shown any anxieties to household sounds or settings, so he must have been an indoor dog.

 In another 6 months when his bones and joints are all developed, he would make someone a great jogging partner to burn off some energy and keep his svelt figure.  Long walks will suit him just fine too.

Stayed tuned for updates as we get to know him more.  But we sure love what we see so far!  If you are looking for Mr. Wonderful to be your companion, contact your placement advisor!

 

Updates

Saturday, March 6, 2021

It is with great sadness I report that Apollo 10-258 passed over the rainbow bridge on Friday 2/12/21. He was a good boy who loved his family and loved having belly rubs and head and neck massages. His hips and back started failing him a few summers ago, so he wasn't able to run like he loved to do, but he stayed happy until the very end. He will be missed by his forever family very much. 

Apollo 10-258
Apollo 10-258
Apollo 10-258
Apollo 10-258
Apollo 10-258
Apollo 10-258
Apollo 10-258
Apollo 10-258
Apollo 10-258

Friday, October 15, 2010

This is Apollo reporting...sorry it's been awhile, I have been having so much fun I haven't had time to update. I LOVE my forever home. I get to play ball and frisbee every single day. I prefer the ball, but the frisbee is fun too. I could play all day! There are five people in my home (besides me), and they love to give me hugs and kisses and my favorite is massages. It's like a little spa......especially the day I ran through the creek...over and over again until I was a tiny bit dirty :-). We had lots and lots of rain here, and my house is safe but the creek was pretty muddy. I love to swim almost as much as I love to play ball. I think my very favorite thing is riding in the car, which we got to do last weekend when we went to the river to look at the trees. We got to have a picnic, too. It was really fun. I am looking forward to playing in the snow this winter with my new family.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

I officially have a new last name!  My new family picked me up at Goldzilla yesterday.  What an awesome event that was, even though I could not go swimming.  There sure were a lots of dogs there, both previously adopted and those looking for a forever home.  I hope a lot of them met their future families as well.  

Thank you RAGOM for taking me in when I was a stray from the shelter and giving me a place to rest my head, fill my tummy, and make new friends while waiting for my forever home.  

One last picture of me and my foster sisters and friends.  Thanks for everything!

Apollo

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Great news!  My surgery went great this morning.  Now just try to keep me calm for 10 days while I heal up, ha!

The vet checked my hips both when she did the pre-surgical exam while awake (I kept trying to snuggle with her and crawl in her lap) and while I was under anesthesia and said everything looked good as far as she could tell, so no known hip issues for this boy.  My heartworm test was negative too so all good news for me.

My new family, the D Family, is going to make the adoption final this Saturday, so I will be at Goldzilla for a few hours in the morning, then I'll be heading home to the Rochester area to start my new life.  I will have a mom, dad, 2 sisters and a brother to keep me busy, busy, busy in my new huge yard!  This young boy is so VERY happy!  

Much thanks to my foster sisters for being so welcoming and letting me share all of their toys, treats, and the bed!  

Apollo

 

Monday, September 13, 2010

Hey fans, Apollo here.  Just a quick note to tell you that I met a wonderful family last Wednesday night and they fell in love with me!  Hip-Hip-Hooray!  Hopefully we can work out the schedule for me to go to my forever home sometime next weekend.  There was a scheduling snafu for my surgery, so I have not had that done yet.  But that's ok, cuz I got the spend most of the last 2 days outside running around with my foster sisters in the beautiful weather, which I would not have been able to do if I had the surgery already!

I am such a good boy that I've haven't had to sleep in the kennel after the 4th night.  I much prefer the bed for a little while after lights out then jump down to the floor.  I do get back into bed in the morning for 10 minutes of snuggle time and pillow talk with everyone and I really LOVE that!  

FM has already been telling me how much I will be missed when I go to my forever home because I'm such an easy guy to have around.  I learn very quickly, want to please people and be where they are, am playful with my foster sisters (we do lots of wrestling now and really enjoy chasing each other), and am just a big goof ball.  FM is very happy that  I am going to get lots of attention and training in my new home.  I just know that FM will be so proud of me!  And since my new family doesn't live too far away, maybe I'll be able to visit my foster sisters sometime too.

Here's a pic of us hanging out for movie time after a long weekend playing outside.  Ah, this is the life!

 

I'll send in one last update after my surgery to let my fans know how it all went.

Lots of luv,

Apollo, Mr. Wonderful

Monday, September 6, 2010

Hi Everyone, Apollo here!  Well, I have had 2 1/2 days here already so I thought I'd give an update.  

I'm loving the cooler weather and got to spend most of the weekend outside with the resident golden doodles.  I'm really smitten with Lilly, who is 13 months old and loves to play with me.  She is a big tease and cruises by me with toys in her mouth and dares me to take them.  Just as I get close, she takes off and makes me chase her around the yard!  I'm not aggressive about the toys when we all go after the same one. I just come running back with them waiting for the next throw.  I know how to drop the toy on command -- ok, not immediately as I like to squish them and slobber them up first before giving them back.  FM can put her hand in my mouth with the toy and I don't bite down.  She says I have a soft mouth.  I do jump up when excited for the toys but I keep my feet to myself.  And I only feel the need to bark when excited for play or toys.  Otherwise, I am a pretty quite gentleman.

There are a ton of toys here to play with.  I learned what squeeky toys are and now love them!  I am not an aggressive chewer and have not tried to tear or destroy anything.  FM leaves shoes all over and I ignore them.  Lilly however, likes to relocate them from room to room along with the pillows from the bedroom.  I do love to play fetch, so that will be a must in my new home.

Saturday FM was giving the two residents baths outside before their haircuts and I thought that looked pretty good, so as soon as the second one jumped out of the booster bath, I jumped in for my turn.  Those shampoo massages are so relaxing, followed by the nice warm water rinse.  Makes a boy feel all purty and everything!  After we all dried off, I crawled into FM's lap to get my turn at a good brushing.  It felt so good that I collapsed like a folding chair into her arms.  I love full body contact!  

I am good at taking treats.  Here we all have to sit in line and wait our turn for little pieces of training treats.  I am very patient and do not try and butt in line, and I keep my eye on FM to make sure she counts properly and no one gets skipped in rotation.  Yes, we dogs know how to count!

When FM brought out the leashes to go for a walk, I was all over that!  We walked last night and it was wonderful.  A white squirrel crossed our path and I thought, "That was cool!"  I didn't feel the need to go talk to him, but that could have been the Gentle Leader talking.    I just love to get out and stretch these big boy legs!  As we got close to home, we came upon a pack of young kids, or are they called a gaggle?  Anyways, they ranged from 1 1/2 yrs old to 13 yrs old and were noisy.  They were all very nice and I was such a good boy getting treats from 5-6 of them.  Even the two little ones under three years old were nice.  They gave me big hugs around my neck and petted my face and I sat there and soaked it up.  We also passed another dog on our walk that was on the other side of the street.  That dog barked and barked and the three of us just kept on walking, not giving that dog another thought.

I am housetrained and haven't even tried to mark anything in the house, which FM is happy about considering I marked a big pile of dog food bags at Stone Mountain when she picked me up.  I guess that can happen sometimes in us unaltered boys.   Maybe it was just all the excitement of the day Friday.  However, outside, I freely mark away.  (I only marked twice on our walk. FM just kept us moving along.)

The first night I got here I did growl a little at FM when she touched my back when I was eating.  Then she started putting those tasty training treats in my bowl as I was eating, so now I know the program.  By Sunday night, I was eating at the same time in the same room with the other dogs and we all did just fine.  FM kept interrupting me to hand me training treats while I was eating my kibble, so I am getting the picture that even better stuff comes my way someone comes close to my bowl. That's really sneaky...

I am sleeping in a crate in the bedroom at night right now due to my unaltered status and affections for Lilly.  I'm a little restless to start as I am a little big even for the 42" x 28" crate.  FM thinks that I would be fine sleeping outside the kennel after my surgery and recovery time.  She thinks I would be ok with free roam during the day too, but she won't test that until after recovery.  

Two or three times, Kraelyn and I have exchanged a little growl for whatever reason (was not over food or a toy).  FM doesn't know who starts it, but she is sure Kraelyn shares in the blame.  FM thinks that sometimes Kraelyn feels a little put out when fosters come to stay, but she gets over that in a few days.  I am told Lilly was a foster that decided to stay permanently and now they are inseparable.  As we all get more comfortable with each other, I don't feel I will have any reason to growl. (Lilly is my BFF here, so I haven't growled at her.)

FM hasn't noticed any anxieties.  She says I settled in very quickly, even was sleeping comfortably Friday night.  And a neighbor was lighting fireworks on Saturday night, and I didn't react (we were all in the house).  The only thing I don't like is being in the crate while I know everyone else went outside to play in the yard.  I do bark for a couple of minutes, but then settle down.  FM comes and gives me treats when I am quiet, so I am learning it is ok. (FM here - only crating for testing purposes initially as he will need to be in the kennel during work hours on Wednesday while resident dogs go to daycare.)

I have included a couple of pictures to help give you an idea on my size and how gorgeous I am.  The resident doodles are taller than most goldens and I am taller than the doodles.  I am 27 inches tall at the shoulders and 35 inches at my head.  Don't let my size fool you, I am a big lover at heart.  (FM let me up on the bed to play and I rolled over and gave her my best bedroom eyes.)  

Things I want in my new forever home:

-- Someone to walk me daily and play fetch with me.

-- Obedience training - FM thinks that I have had some, but would benefit from more.  I don't have the knack of Stay just yet.

-- I can be a single dog in a home if I have sufficient socialization with other dogs as I like to play.

-- I can probably be trained to stay on my property without a fence if someone teaches me the boundaries.  I have pretty good recall so far, but more training would help. And of course, daily walks help here too.

-- Someone that likes giving me full body hugs and massages and will let me be close to them.

-- A family that is not intimidated by my size.  It needs to be big to contain my big golden heart!

Thanks for reading my long update!  My surgery is Thursday so I'll give an update once I am back home.