6/8/09: This handsome young boy is Napoleon. He is a cream neutered male horsecoat, and he's 13 months old. Napoleon has some adjusting to do before he's ready for adoption, but he's a fast learner, so it won't be long. You see, Napoleon was never socialized so he's very afraid of people that he doesn't know. We're in touch with a great trainer who is giving us tips based on videos of Napoleon and already, he's come a long way.

Napoleon is very skinny but he's a good eater, so he will fatten up quickly, we're sure. Napoleon is current on vaccinations, on heartworm preventive and microchipped.

Click here to watch Napoleon's video on You Tube.

6/12/09: This little guy is coming around very quickly. He's such a good boy - well behaved, a good eater, completely house trained, gets along great with the other dogs, loves nylabones and stuffed toys. He also loves me!

6/27/09: Napoleon is a hoot! He loves to tease Woody and Penny with toys and he'll try to get 2 or 3 in his mouth at once. He's hilarious. He's gaining weight and really learning to not be afraid of people. He especially likes our granddaughters.

Very inquisitive little guy. He has made great strides in the short time he's been with us. 7/2/09

7/24/09: This sweet boy is in his new home in Columbus OH and what a surprise. We thought he would be stressed by the ride and new folks, but he proved us wrong. He took to Sonja and her mom immediately and actually rode in Sonja's mom's lap for most of the trip back. We are so glad he felt comfortable. We must have done a halfway decent job of socializing him in the 6 weeks he was here. Sonja's husband, Nick, couldn't come today, so we'll get a family picture soon. The picture below is of Sonja and her mom and, of course, Napoleon. Way to go, Nap!

We got this note from Sonja after they'd been home for a while:

We made it back home safely....Napoleon IS a hoot:) He adjusted to my mom and me very well which was a sweet relief to us. Before we were back on the road after picking him up, he had his front legs planted on the console between our chairs in the van and was looking down the highway with us. Then he rested his upper body on the console to hang out a little while before he made his way into my mom's lap where he laid like a little lamb for quite a while. That was quite a special moment for grandma and the new "baby":)

He was a bit skiddish at the rest stop but at ease in the van with us. He was great riding all the way home...patient.

He has since met Nick whom he took to very well also. What a relief!!! He has met his grandpa and other grandma. He has eaten and had water, gone on a walk with Nick, explored the entire house but still has yet to discover a few corners throughout, and is now sleeping next to my computer chair on his side....and now he's up again:)

We're off to a great start. I took pictures and video. We will share within the next few days.

Thank you again for what you do and the part you have played in this process. Please extend another thank you to Galon for making the trip with a sore back. I hope he is feeling better despite the trip. Napoleon is now resting and is peaceful. Still has some getting used to as expected, but doing well.

We'll be in touch,
Nick, Sonja, and our boy Napoleon

=

7/28/09: Hi Cindy,

I appreciate your concern for Napoleon and I'm sorry to hear that you were worried. I have been wrapped up in having our new little one in our home and have not looked at nor thought much about my email one time until today. Please rest assured that updates and pictures were very soon to come and that he (and we) are doing quite well!

Since my last email, Napoleon has had several visitors, both children and adults. He has taken several walks and has been to the park which he loved. I have chased him around the living room as he ran with his tennis ball or rabbit in his mouth. He has finished one medium rawhide bone within an hour time (and won't get another one for a few days so I can see how it agrees with him). He is eating and drinking excellently as his appetite is healthy. One thing that is interesting to me is that when we walk him he tends to do the majority of his urination in one spot. Our previous boy would spray the entire neighborhood until he emptied out! I used to imagine how nice it would've been if in the middle of the freezing winter our boy knew how to just let it all out in one or two stops, but instead we would have to hike up and down the street of ice and snow just to get him to empty himself. It looks like Napoleon might be that wish come true this coming winter:) We'll see.

We have formally named him Bo-Tai Napoleon Dill in honor of our other Pei, Tai-Bo. We still call him Napoleon of course and will continue to do so, but somewhere along the way I will be calling him Bo-Tai as well. We are a family of nicknames, and our other Pei answered to about six names that we affectionately referred to him as. So we will play that by ear. He has a shiny new silver name tag on his collar with his name, address, and phone.

His first flea med has been applied....

He hasn't made friends with his bed yet. Instead, he sleeps on the floor at the foot of our bed and won't awake us in the morning but waits for us to rise and then greets us. What a sweetie to wake up to as he stretches about three or four different ways, bottom high and chest low or legs dragging behind him:)

Cindy, he has not exhibited any negative characteristics.....he adjusts to people quickly and then pours out the love or playfulness, he doesn't chew on things or make a mess of things while we are away from the house. And he is so smart. Though he is hesitant at the onset, once he is introduced to something or someone and gets comfortable with them, he is good to go! He is a wonderful dog!!!

I hope you will see in his few pics that he is adjusting and even beginning to take possession of his new home. He confidently barks at people when they walk down the street as if to say, "Stay away from my home and family!" I say confidently because his tail is curled upward, head is erect, and hair is raised on his shoulder blades, not the signs of a dog who is scared and wants to go hide! He is also using various windows in the house to look outside from different perspectives, sometimes barking at something he sees. He is also becoming more independent in the house and occasionally roams without us. He is adjusting.

Hence, he is doing well. When you are reminded of Napoleon, be enlightened that we will continue to spoil him with security and TLC because he is the baby:). We believe he is a special gift from the Lord that is designed just for us, and you won't have to worry for he is in good hands.

Enjoy the pictures and we will be in touch in the future weeks with updates such as his first vet visit and ongoing progress.

Until soon,

Nick, Sonja, and Bo-Tai "Napoleon"

Napoleon with his bunny rabbit

8/31/09: Hi Cindy, It has been on my mind to send you an update and video of Napoleon. Pictures are nice but a video might give the best viewing of his personality and size. We took him to the vet a couple of weeks ago and he is 45.7 lbs. He is beautiful. He got two vaccinations and his heart med. His physical was excellent. His hair shed like crazy for about a week and a half, and now his coat is like plush carpet, soft and thick. He is doing well. We are experiencing an ongoing challenge, though. He is having a hard time warming up to Nick. At first, we figured it was because he was new to his new home. But it is still happening. It is so strange. When Nick is sitting on the couch, at the dining room table, or on the floor, Napoleon is completely comfortable around him, puts his front paws up against him to stand and get rubbed, plays with him, or just hangs out under Nick. But when Nick stands, Napoleon makes excessive room for him. And if Nick has something in his hands, Napoleon hastily leaves the room to find me. He won’t even allow Nick to put his leash on to walk him, but once the leash is on he walks fine with Nick. To get the leash on, I either have to do it or Nick has to spend several minutes before Napoleon will let him connect the leash, usually while enticing him with treats. Nick is a patient, laid back personality which makes it so mind boggling. We reason that he must’ve had negative experiences in his past, particularly by a man who negatively used something in his hand.

Other than that, he is a cheery, fun dog. Thanks! Sonja and Nick

This is one handsome boy! 9/24/09

3/24/2010: He's Napoleon is doing wonderfully. I just recently went to your website and saw that he is the featured adoption story! That's great! Sonja, wil be sending you a full update in the next few weeks...we actually just talked about it. Napo (his new nicknamed - pronounced nappo) is up to about 50 pounds now and is a beautiful dog. We are very thankful for him. I'll have Sonja send a picture of him as well but all is great and we'll give a full update soon! Talk to you later.

3/24/2010: Hi Cindy!

It has been a while and so sorry we haven’t been in touch sooner.  My personal email and facebook are so backed up, and as I was scanning through them all and saw your reminder email, I realized that it is certainly overdue in updating you.  I hope all is well with you and your family, including the Peibies.

Napoleon is doing very well.  He made it through a snow covered winter season (all of February) and loved the snow!  It was fun to watch him run in the snow, sometimes unable to see his legs due to the snow being so high.  Toward the end of the snow days, he finally caught on to snacking on the snow after a walk through the neighborhood. 

He is outgoing and has such a sense of humorJ Makes Nick and me laugh regularly.  He’s my little right hand man, at my side being my lil’ companion, except when he is neighborhood scoping out of the windows trying to locate doggies, kitty cats, or birds (which is what I say to him when I ask him what he sees out thereJ).  And of course he responds excitedly because he understands exactly what I’m saying.  Hee, hee, hee!   He is very intelligent, sometimes too much for his own good.  He is still high strung and aware of everything around him it seems, sounds that are both obvious and discrete such as creeks in the house. He notices shadows on the ceiling or sunbeams shining on walls.  And though he is high strung, the skittish behavior has calmed down a lot!  Home is certainly his fort and he protects it and us with large dog confidence, but is just a big moosh all along.  He enjoys people once he realizes they are OK with us.  He is still hesitant with men including Nick which is the mystery of all mysteries, but Nick and Nappo have developed a humorous way of communicating with one another at times-  with animated breathing.  Basically, they breathe back and forth at each other as if they are talking.  I wish you could just see it- cracks me up every time.  Nappo loves it!  I should mention he likes music, likes when we sing to him, and likes to dance with meJ  Hah!  …and so much more.  He has an entertaining personality…

Nappo has gotten to know his vets quite well.  Back around October, we think he had an allergic reaction to a flea med.  After we applied the first application to his back, maybe a week later he developed a crusty spot on the center of his back that soon went bare.  It began to spread rather than recover and eventually he lost a lot of hair on his mid-back to the base of his tail.  So it was an adventure as our vet and we tried to target the problem. At first, Nick and I switched his food to an ocean fish Eukanuba diet for allergy prone skin which Nappo really likes and it agrees with him.  We acquired a peroxide shampoo from our vet to bathe him with and an oral antibiotic.  Finally, the condition ceased and his hair slowly came back in.  Now he is fuzzy and his coat is healthy- and we are so happy to see that again.  The condition has not resurfaced.  Another observation…Do you remember when Nappo’s nose swelled up when he was with you, and you thought he might have gotten stung by a bee?  He has had a couple of episodes where his face swelled up.  One time it happened within an hour’s time- appeared almost like magic.  It took a few days for it to go down, with the aid of a flower collar so he didn’t scratch.  The second time it happened, the swelling went down within hours.  During that same time, he had a few bouts with hives…yes, hives along the sides of his body.  So in a nutshell, we have discovered that Nappo is a sensitive boy and he’s keeping us ever learning and growing, becoming Master Shar-Pei owners!  J

He gets many kisses and huggies, and even gives them back when I ask for a “kissy on my nose”.    He has gained weight and has filled out, even the muscling on his back legs have become more pronounced as he is maturingJ  He used to wear his collar on the fourth hole, and now wears it on the second hole as his neck has filled out.  We have had a well rounded, enjoyable time having our baby with us.  We will soon celebrate his 2nd birthday:>

Thank you for sharing Napoleon’s success story on the website.  We will do better at updating you in the future.  So as  to not delay this email, we have not attached a picture yet.  I will aim to send you a few updated pics in the next several days.   Thank you for caring so much, Cindy!

Nick, Sonja, and Nappo

5/16/2010: Napoleon had a birthday last week. He's two years old. Doesn't he look great?