Saving Apollo

Abandoned by the shepherd he gave a life of service to

Born in a field in rural Turkey, Apollo only knew about life on a farm. He knew that sheep were family, he knew his duty was to protect them & he knew every inch of the agricultural world he lived.

He didn’t know about bustling towns full of tall buildings & people & he certainly didn’t know about roads & the speeding cars which used them. That is, until one morning one collided with him.

Despite giving his master a life of dedicated service Apollo was turfed out to fend for himself when he began to slow down. He isn’t an old dog but a life of service in the fields had aged him beyond his years. Given the plentiful number of puppies born on the farm to unsterilized dogs “getting rid” & replacing is an easy choice for a shepherd to make. He always has plenty of younger stronger dogs to choose from.

Poor Apollo must have been so confused & worried when he was unloaded from the farm vehicle. He had watched the terrain change from rural to town as he was driven along the road from the farm. Wondering where they were going, thinking it some great adventure shared between him & the shepherd. He felt special that he had been chosen over all the other dogs in the field.

But when the shepherd drove away leaving Apollo in this strange place he became afraid. He barked as loudly as he could & ran after the farm vehicle as fast as he could until he could run no more.

Apollo had no purpose now, no fields, no sheep to protect. No pack & no shepherd. He thought it must have been a mistake. Perhaps the shepherd thought he was still in the car?

There was only one sensible thing to do. Try to remember the route the shepherd had taken from the farm to here & make it back home. He thought if he could do that the shepherd would be so happy to see him again & all would be well.

Apollo began his journey back to the farm but it was cut short by an approaching car steaming toward him. No time to swerve or even to break, the car hit Apollo striking him on one side, he bounced off the car landing on the other side of the road. The driver didn’t bother to get out of the car. It was “just another dog”. He would check his car for damage when he got home.

Apollo was in terrible pain & despite trying his best to get up to continue his journey back home he couldn’t.

He lay in the middle of the road until first light when a kind dog lover noticed him & called for our ambulance.

Shelter staff collected him kindly & took him straight to our vet who was waiting to receive him.

Apollo was examined & found to have a nasty break in his forearm which needed to be repaired by osteosynthesis, a surgical procedure which joins broken bones back together with plates.

He was a wonderful patient. Never once resisting treatment, he wagged his way through the entire process enjoying the cuddles given so freely by the veterinary staff. This was a new thing for Apollo & it felt great!

Just one week later our boy was to have his stitches removed & take a longer walk. It always amazes me how dogs who have never seen a lead in their whole life go along with it. Very few struggle to be free of it or sit down & refuse to move. I say this a lot but despite the trauma of their accidents & surgeries they seem to know that all is being done to them from a place of love & for their well-being.

Apollo has been discharged to our little clinic & is in a side room while he completely recovers from his dreadful ordeal. He was obviously a little concerned at first, not knowing where he was going or who these strange people were but has settled well in clinic. We are confident that he will settle in to the free roaming pack well & make lots of new friends. He will have “family” again & you never know, he might just find a forever home.

Thank you for listening to Apollo’s story. Every dog who comes under our care has one to tell & each one is as important as the one that went before.

In the current climate in Turkey if Apollo had been abandoned anywhere else, even just over the municipal boundary he most probably would have been culled.

We can’t thank you enough for all the help & support you give us & for caring about our dogs as much as we do. Thank you