Broken-hearted Mariana continues hunt for missing pet Apolo

Mariana Rossi is broken-hearted.

Two months ago, her beloved dog Apolo went missing when he escaped from a kennel in Milltownpass.

Every weekend and several evenings a week Brazilian native Mariana and her husband Paolo Ziliani leave their home in Dublin and go out looking for their much-loved pet, but so far no joy – even despite the €2,000 reward they have on offer.

Mariana becomes emotional as she speaks of Apolo, a ginger-and-white coloured ‘Australian Red’ border collie, who was “part of the family”.

“He went missing on December 14 from Milltownpass,” says Mariana, explaining that she and Paolo placed Apolo in the kennel because they were to embark on a two-week holiday.

“He is almost three years old: he will be three on February 25,” says Mariana.

“He is a gorgeous dog and I used to come with him every day to the park close to my house and everybody was: ‘oh: he’s so gorgeous; he’s so beautiful’.

“He is a border collie but with very different colours, and he is a little bit shorter than other collies.”

The Australian Red border collie is not commonly seen in this country, and Mariana brought him to Ireland when she came here from Brazil a year and a half ago to undertake a Master’s degree at Trinity College.

“He arrived the day after us: he had to come on a special flight for animals.”

Mariana, Paolo and Apolo settled in to life in Dublin and as 2021 was drawing to a close, Mariana and Paolo began planning a trip to Brazil.

As things happened, Mariana could not leave until two weeks after her husband, and so she was in Dublin on December 14 when she received a call from the kennel telling her Apolo had escaped.

“They said ‘Apolo is missing’, and I was upset: I couldn’t really understand what he was saying.”

The dog is normally obedient, because it has attended training classes, and so straight away, Mariana left for Milltownpass so she could call for the dog, in the hope it would respond to her voice, but sadly, her efforts were in vain.

She knows the dog is frightened of horses, and there were horses nearby, and she wonders if their presence caused the dog to flee.

Most people will by now have seen the posters containing Apolo’s photo and Mariana’s number; suspected sightings are being reported at the rate of about three per day and Mariana and Paolo have extended their search beyond Westmeath: “We are looking for him in all Ireland,” says Mariana.

They have a page on Facebook dedicated to the search; they keep erecting posters; they have been going door-to-door.” He’s somewhere; he’s somewhere,” she says.

“We haven’t given up hope: I really believe we will find him, because dogs don’t vanish. He is there somewhere.

“He could be with someone who has not seen the posters; they may think he is a stray dog.

“We even hired a detective, but unfortunately he could not find him.

“He’s not just a dog to me: he is part of my family.”

• If you have any information about Apolo call Mariana on 089 6180257.