This week, get to know junior Emily Morrissey’s boxer, Apollo. Morrissey and her family have previously had dogs, a lab and a lab mix, but when they started looking for a new dog, they decided to get a boxer instead. Apollo is a two-year-old boxer who has a unique personality and loves to play.
“We decided to get a dog because I repeatedly sent cute dog TikTok to my Dad for three months!” Morrissey said. “The one that got him to say ‘yes, let’s look for a dog,’ was a black lab that brought leaves to its owner everyday.”
Morrissey’s family was adamant about avoiding puppy mills, so they did their research to find a responsible breeder. They found one in Pittsburgh, Pa. quite a drive from their home in King of Prussia, Pa.
“I was actually in school when my parents went up to get him. They actually had to drive up twice,” Morrissey said. The first visit was to pick out a puppy, and the second was to take Apollo to his new home.
“Apparently the second time they went up, he was sitting on a bucket, watching over the other puppies,” Morrissey said.
When deciding which puppy to take home, Morrissey’s parents picked for both his personality and his colors. Apollo is a brindle boxer with white markings on his chest and the tips of his toes. His colors compliment his big brown eyes, floppy ears and legs that are still a little too big for him. Despite being a bigger dog, Apollo scares easily.
“He is an 80 lbs dog who gets scared of Amazon boxes,” Morrissey said. Seems Apollo isn’t as scary as some might think! When asked if she had any more stories about him, Morrissey revealed that Apollo has a girlfriend at doggy daycare. Apollo loves making friends and playing with other dogs at the daycare, but he has become particularly close with a Doberman named Luna.
“He is super social, both with people and dogs. He’s called the mayor dog at daycare because he makes sure every dog there is happy,” Morrissey said.
Apollo is a very spoiled puppy, loves to cuddle and is always ready to play. His favorite toy is a rope toy, and he occasionally tolerates it when Morrissey puts him in his fancy shirt, as seen in his photo.
Apollo gets his name from Apollo Creed, the adversary turned ally of Rocky Balboa in the “Rocky” movies. A boxer who is named after a boxer!
