In Houston, Texas, where he was known to roam about near a gas station parking lot, a dog by the name of Napoleon was a regular sighting in the area. The pit bull mix was three years old and didn’t have a home of his own; he subsisted on leftovers that were given to him by kind Samaritans.
When rescue workers at the shelter received the report about the forlorn and starving dog, they immediately realized they had to assist the animal.
As rescuers located Napoleon, they transported him to an emergency veterinary facility, where he was diagnosed with a diaphragmatic hernia. This condition indicates that Napoleon’s organs had shifted upward into his chest cavity. In order for him to have any chance of life, he needed emergency surgery right away.
Since Napoleon’s health problems were more difficult than anybody had anticipated before his five-hour operation, the hospital was unable to guarantee that he would make a full recovery.
According to Laura Forma, who helped establish This Is Houston and gave an interview to The Dodo, “they indicated it may have been something that steadily developed over time.” One of the doctors said that it was one of the most severe examples of a diaphragmatic hernia that they had ever seen.
As the clock ticked closer to the early hours of the morning, the physicians began to worry that Napoleon had been under anesthesia for too long. In spite of this, they persisted, and Napoleon emerged victorious from the conflict.
Forma said that he had a successful recovery. “He never lost his cheerful attitude throughout the ordeal. A real miracle.”
This Is Houston made Napoleon available for adoption once he had recovered from his injuries in a foster home.
Napoleon was quite devoted to his foster parent, and it reflected during their meet and greet,” said Forma. “He did meet a family who fell in love with him, but Napoleon was pretty bonded to his foster mom.” Hence, they came to the conclusion that they should not proceed.
Napoleon waited a further 315 days before anybody showed interest in rescuing him, bringing the total number of days he spent waiting to 328.
After then, everything was different.
Tina Kempken, Napoleon’s new mother, said with The Dodo that the two of them had been following his tale from the very beginning. “I remember watching his tale and thinking, “If he remains alive in a few months when we get a home with a yard, we have to get him.”
Kempken continued by saying, “We went to his foster mom’s home, and the moment we saw his adorable face, we fell in love with him instantaneously.” Since we’ve brought him inside, we’ve discovered that his favorite things to do are run about in the yard and cuddle. He fails to remember that he weighs approximately 90 pounds.
After what seemed like an eternity, he is now beginning to emerge from his reclusive state. The adorable puppy is crazy with stuffed animals, and he has formed a strong friendship with Kempken’s other dog, Snoopy. Yet that does not imply that he has forgotten all that he has gone through; in fact, Kempken is reminded of it on a daily basis.
Kempken said that “we know that good things take time, and we are delighted that everything transpired the way it did, since it led to his forever after.” You’d never guess that Napoleon had such a horrific survival tale from listening to him tell it. We just cannot wait to dote on him for the rest of his life, take him on exciting journeys, and simply let him bask in the pleasures of life.