'Bait dog' rescued from certain death, needs life-saving surgery

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- An 8-week-old puppy named Apollo is recovering after he and his litter mates were used as bait in a dog fight.

Apollo survived; his mother and siblings did not. According to a local animal advocate, someone near the dog fight rescued him.

Apollo ended up in the care of Teresa Kobs. She has fostered dogs and cats for years.

"He has a puncture wound inside of his mouth and his teeth are twisted up into the roof of his mouth," Kobs said, "and the hole that's in his mouth goes up into his nose."

She has taken care of him for about a week.

"The first day that we had him, we weren't sure that he was gonna make it through the night," Kobs said. "His face was completely swollen. The eye was bright red. They thought he might lose vision in that eye. He had blood dripping from his nose constantly."

Kobs said she has spent about $900 on veterinary bills so far.

Dr. Chanda Miles is caring for Apollo at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists.

"Apollo should receive surgery to repair the communication from the mouth to the nose," Miles said. "If surgery is not performed, it is likely that Apollo will succumb to severe upper respiratory infections that can become pneumonia, which can be fatal if the main cause is not eliminated."

That surgery costs about $5,000 total, according to Kobs. She started a GoFundMe account to help raise money for the procedure. And in less than 10 minutes after our story aired on Eyewitness News at 6pm on Wedensday, enough money was raised for Apollo's surgery. The goal was $4,000, and the GoFundMe account now is almost at $6,000.

"All of his littermates, his mother, died," Kobs said. "I hate to say that he was lucky, considering his injuries, but he was lucky. He was a lucky dog."

All excess money raised on the GoFundMe account will go to a local pit bull rescue.