"Thanks to the GREAT response and generous donations we have raised enough money to pay for Apollo's vet visit and his first month of medicine!! Thank you to all who donated!! Now we have to think to the future, his vet said he will likely be on this for many months due to the severity of this infection. So after much talking and looking into how we got into this financial situation, Noble Shepherd Rescue would like set a new goal in honor of Apollo. Its a high goal but with the great support that Apollo has received we are confident that we can reach it. Our new goal is $5000.00 for "Apollo's fund"!!
We don't want to ever be in the position again to NOT be able to get needed medicine for a sick dog due to our funds already being depleted with special medical cases. This situation occurred due to several big medical issues all happening this year, we had a Heartworm treatment for Logan that went over the $500.00 quote, Lilli came down with Parvo and we still owe big $$ on that, $400.00 ER visit and another $800.00 in follow up hospitalization and care with her regular vet, Riggs' hospice care went over $1000.00 too and Aros had a $600.00 dental emergency when he cracked several teeth! Apollo's fund would be earmarked for medical bills only, to strictly pay for vet bills...which is always the biggest need with our rescue.
August 18th Visit to Dermatologist
Apollo loved his visit to the Dermatologist, normally people don't want to pet him due to his odd appearance and flaky, scabby skin but the vet techs all loved on him and he ate it up!! He sat still and behaved so well as he was swabbed and scrapped. All the in-house tests came back conclusive to a bacterial skin infection but due to his not responding to the drugs he has been on, cultures were sent off to determine exactly what drug resistant bacteria we were dealing with. We have gotten good and bad news from the Dermatologist. Good news is the cultures identified 5 different bacterial strains in his ears and skin. The even better news is there is a single antibiotics that can fight all 5. But, the bad news is this is a very expensive drug and just the first months worth is $405.00!! We FINALLY have an answer to Apollo's skin issues and a way to fight them but the rescue does not have enough money to even start him on this treatment. With all the special needs dogs we have currently, our vet fund is almost empty. Please find it in your heart to donate to Apollo's fund! He is such a sweet, happy boy who deserves to finally be healthy.
Apollo has had a relapse of his skin condition and we have tried several treatment options with no effect so far. His vet has referred him to a Dermatologist specialist and we are working on raising money for this appointment. Poor Apollo has been through so much but he keeps such a happy outlook on life, he doesn't seem to notice that he has no hair and doesn't look like the other dogs. He is only interested in playing ball and running around. He tolerates his medicated baths and all his pills, always with a tail wag and a kiss. He is such a sweet boy and we are dedicated to solving this frustrating and complex skin issue.
Please help us to help him and donate in his name. You can make a payment to:
Noble Shepherd Rescue
P.O. Box 7286
Florence, SC 29502
or-
On the same weekend in July that Noble Shepherd rescue took on the task of taking in the 3 German Shepherds in the Columbus County, NC abuse case, we also took in another horrible neglect case. Pictured below is how Apollo looked when we picked him up.
When we were learned of this pitiful boy in a shelter in NC about to be put to sleep because of how he looked, we immediately called to try to rescue him. He was dumped at the shelter by his owners who couldn’t handle his skin issues. We had no idea what medical condition afflicted him, but knew he deserved a chance to be healed or at least to be humanly euthanized in loving arms instead of killed at a shelter if his condition proved to be untreatable. However, in the true spirit of a German Shepherd, Apollo has proved to be a fighter and has an exuberant lust for life. He is a real trooper when it comes to all the medical tests, blood work, medicated baths, eye drops, ear cleanings, ointments, and medications he has had to put up with. He is still being treated and has further treatments to go, but as you can see, he has improved dramatically.
Many times we get dogs into the rescue that have medical issues like Apollo. Many times they are preventable if their previous owners had properly cared for them, but by the time we get them, they have secondary issues that usually end up being quite expensive to treat. In Apollo’s case he came to us with a very bad bacterial skin infection brought on by a variety of issues. Most probable is poor nutrition, possible flea allergy and/or food allergy…all very common and very preventable and/or treatable issues. However, since nothing was done by his previous owners to prevent fleas from biting him or simply treating him early on when he had issues, his irritation was allowed to become a widespread skin infection, thus leaving him susceptible to other infections and reeking havoc with is poor immune system. Apollo is on the mend now, and is a wonderful, happy, affection boy who loves nothing more than to chase a ball and be with his people.
Although he is not available for adoption yet, he will be soon. If interested in helping Apollo, either through donating to his care or interest in adopting him, please contact us as info@nobleshepherdrescue.com.