Lyn Richards
This page is a memorial to my best friend Apollo. The best thing I can do in remembrance of him, is to memorialize his wonderful life, and acknowledge the reason for his death. If more people understand the mind of a dog, then maybe in time we can prevent the loss of our beloved dogs to mental problems, whether they be genetic or illness related.Apollo the Wonder(ful) Dane
This story begins with a Naive pet Dane search in 1992. Up until then, I had owned and trained German Shepherds for obedience. I was knowledgeable of the problems, breed lines and temperament of Shepherds, but knew nothing of the health problems, lines and needs of Danes. I was green and knew it.
I searched for a puppy with simple things in mind....was it cute? Did the breeder have knowledge of the Stud dogs lineage? Was it affordable?
Knowing what I now know, it would (and will be) a different search. (see Puppy Selection page)
We found a litter of 14 (FOURTEEN!?!) adorable pups. Apollo chose us, and after several visits, we took him home. What an adorable little guy....he wanted to please, was eager to learn and showed great promise in obedience.
He began his training at 8 weeks old, enrolled in puppy kindergarten. A happy pup, he was attentive and enthusiastic, actively seeking new challenges. I entered him in his first Novice competition at 9 months, and he scored a 185. Knowing that he was capable of much more, I went back to training and fine tuned him before further competition.
At the same time, I was training him to be a Therapy dog. Being such an intuitive dog, he was an easy study. He loved people, applause and attention, so the rest was easy.
As many of you may know, my Great Danes, Apollo and Belle are Therapy dogs. While Belle is certified for TDI, and is a happy and friendly dog, she's too self absorbed to be really GOOD at it. Apollo on the other hand, seemed to have a sixth sense about who needed him, and also sensed those who truly are afraid, vs. those who only THINK they are afraid of him. Many is the time I have seen a nursing home resident reply to my question, "Do you like dogs?" with a resounding "NO!", and minutes later be laying their heads and hands all over Apollo.
One day while visiting a nursing home with Apollo (Who, for your interest would not share his visits with Belle, he just isn't the same and is possessive of the patients when she's there, but he was GREAT when he could steal the show!), visiting the same patients we visit regularly, this remarkable incident took place.
At this particular home (Maple Leaf), there were 2 floors, and we had specific rooms where we would visit. Apollo had run of the place, and knew "his" rooms. When visiting, he traveled from room to room with me in tow. This particular day, he bounced into a room on the 2nd floor, where his best friend Eva lived. Eva was 103 years old, and at 4'5" and she and Apollo were nose to nose when they visited, which was HYSTERICAL to see, and yes we have photos! On this day when he walked into her room, she was nowhere to be found.
Apollo sniffed the bed, the floor, the night stand and the closet. He looked EVERYWHERE, but Eva just wasn't home. All of a sudden he sat down real hard and started this God-awful howling, not loud, but eerie and long...I tried to stop him, but he continued to whimper. About a minute into this, the floor nurse came running into the room. She sat on the bed and tears just ran down her cheeks. She said to Apollo, "It's OK boy, she knew you loved her, she's happier now". At which point, Apollo rested his head in her lap, and tears were really running from his eyes.
As saddened as I was by the loss of sweet Eva, I was even more overwhelmed by Apollo's reaction. Imagine, he knew she had died before I knew! Every time we visited that home, he still turned his head to enter her room, and then checked himself and went on. The new resident was a gentleman who didn't like dogs.
Apollo went on to complete his American Kennel Club "CD" (Companion Dog) Obedience title in 1994. Billyn's Buddy "Apollo", TDI, CGC, AM/CAN CD earned his AKC-CD with 195 and 191 scores consecutively. He earned the latter 2 scores at Scituate / South Shore Kennel Club 9-17-94, with a First Place win (over a German Shepherd) in an All Breed Obedience Show and 9-24-94 at Saccarappa Obedience Trial at Portland, ME for a Second Place finish. In November 1994 at The Canadian Kennel Club's 3 Day all Breed Obedience Trial in Montreal Apollo earned his Canadian Kennel Club "CD" Title in 3 consecutive days . During the second day of the trial (this trial was part of The Great Dane Club of Quebec's' annual Dane Specialty), Apollo also captured the High Scoring Dane in Trial trophy.
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