3 years ago I got a call from Shar Pei Savers asking me to go take a look at a dog in a shelter in Parma. I was warned that this dog was a really bad case and that someone working there had gotten in touch with our group begging us to take it b/c it wasn't getting proper care. So, I head on over and am met with the most pitiful site I ever saw. A dog, young, probably just about a year that is almost completely hairless and has chewed himself to pieces. He had some sort of "elepahntitis" that had make his legs enormous and full of fluid. His face was a puffy mess and the smell. Oh my god the smell was alarming, he smelled like rotten garbage. To top it all off there was a sign on the cage saying that it was up to the owner to have the excess skin removed, for you non dog or non shar pei people, you don't remove a peis freaking skin, they are supposed to be wrinkled. I got him out of the cage and he immediately came over and folded himself into my lap, the smell was so bad I couldn't stand it, I had to leave. I wasn't allowed to say I was a rescue, this place didn't adopt to rescues since they were a no kill shelter. So, I told them I had to think about it. I got in my car and just cried. I'm sure they thought I'd never come back. But I did, the next day I came back and got him and drove home with him trapped in the far back of the car and the windows down. He had been an owner surrender, bought from some F***ed up Backyard Breeder and had been turned in b/c they couldn't deal with his skin issues. It was labor day weekend. I told SPS there was no way I could foster this dog, he was in too bad of shape, there was nothing I could do. I took him to a vets office and left him for 2 days to get checked over and pretty much stayed away. I was scared of this dog and the unknown. But I had to bring him home. The first night we had him sleep in the garage, I still feel bad about that. The next time I washed him with tar shampoo and let it sit and scrubbed the oil and smell away for the most part. We let him sleep in the house that night. He had never seen stairs and had no idea what to do with them, so I had to carry him up and down them for a few days. He had never seen a toy. He had never slept in a bed. He was loving and gentle from day 1 and mushi loved him. I had no intention of fostering this dog. I had someone lined up to come get him the following weekend, but in that week he stole my heart. I talked Gary into letting me foster him, about a month later, we just went ahead and paid for him and filled out the adoption papers and he was ours. To make a long story short, Taiko had an extreme thyroid issue, once he was thyroid meds for a few months he got tons better, not perfect, I still had to give him a bath weekly, but the oil production slowed and his hair grew back and he didn't itch nearly as much. Later on we went further and put him on a strict diet of duck & potato dog food, no soy, no wheat, no grains. He got even better. Then we got him his very own dermatologist who determined he was allergic to all kinds of stuff like pollen and ragweed. So, now he gets a weekly allergy shot. And let me tell you,, we have spent thousands of dollars getting this dog into good health. He soon has to have surgery on his bottom lip b/c it wraps too tightly over his bottom teeth and is causing his teeth to decay. Whoever bred him should be shot. I freaking hate recreational breeders. Anywho, he has been worth every penny. I love him so much and cannot imagine what would have happened to him if I had taken that filthy greasy bloated pile of wrinkles home with me. He brings me joy everyday when I come home from work and he howls and yelps so happy to see his mamma. My favorite Tai quirk is when you are laying on the floor watching tv, he likes to come over and lay right on your belly and then he wags his tails and he keeps you pinned. Happy Birthday Taiko.