You’ll never believe what he looks like now …
When Aaron Tanguma saw a text from his coworker about a hairless dog in the outdoor bathroom at the Texas high school he taught at, he immediately went to see for himself. What he found was a sick, sad dog, later named Apollo, waiting for someone to notice him.
Poor Apollo was incredibly skinny and covered in a severe case of mange. Tanguma offered him some food, which he graciously accepted — and later that day, he brought Apollo home.
Tanguma and his fiancée, Renee Gonzales, wanted to bring Apollo inside right away, but they already had four rescue cats and didn’t want them getting sick, too. They were too terrified to bring Apollo to the vet, as he was in such bad condition that they were afraid the vet would immediately put him down. Instead, they bought mange medication and began treating Apollo themselves.
“It took about 3 months for his skin to fully heal and another 3 [to] 4 months to grow his fur out fully,” Gonzales told The Dodo. “We rescued him [in] May 2024, and he became an indoor dog in February 2025.”
While Apollo was healing, he slept a lot and seemed depressed. Once he was feeling better and officially became a member of the family, his true personality finally shone through.
“His personality has completely changed from when he was depressed, and he’s always smiling and happy to see us,” Gonzales said.
When he was first rescued, Apollo was hairless and barely looked like a dog at all. His new family had no idea what he would look like once he was healed, and could never have imagined the fluffy, adorable guy he is now.
“People are loving his story and have said it’s the best transformation they have ever seen,” Gonzales said.
When he was first found, Apollo had almost given up. Now, he’s absolutely thriving, and it’s all because Tanguma decided to give him a chance.
You can follow Apollo on TikTok.
