Last week, recent Marine Corps veteran Sergeant Jrluis Ruiz was doing what so many do during the summer, he was visiting a Jersey Shore beach along with his 3-month-old Belgian Malinois puppy Apollo.

What started out as a normal visit to Ideal Beach in Middletown ended up turning into a desperate search for Apollo, who is in training to be Sgt. Ruiz's service dog.

The search for the pup started out as a hunt for a dog that may have wandered away, but as the search stretched into hours and days, it started to seem possible that Apollo was stolen.

Sgt. Ruiz started a Facebook page as a way of getting photos and information out about Apollo, and he's started a GoFundMe fundraiser to offer a reward for Apollo's safe return.

Here's the missing poster for Apollo:

In the week since Apollo first went missing, media outlets have jumped in to get the word out to try to help turn the pup up, like this video from NJ.com:

Apollo was last with Sgt. Ruiz on Sunday, August 9th at Ideal Beach in Middletown.

He's a 3-month-old black and brown male Belgian Malinois who weighs about 15 pounds.

You can see a lot more photos of Apollo, stay up to date with the search, and share any tips that you might have by clicking here for the official FIND Apollo Facebook page.

If you'd like to donate to the reward fund, you can click here for the GoFundMe page.

Here's hoping that Apollo safely gets back to Sgt. Ruiz soon!

Enter your number to get our free mobile app

More From SoJO 104.9 FM