About Us
Who we are
Katrina & Richard Sun :-: Soleil Boxers est. 2002
We are Katrina and Richard Sun and we reside in the San Francisco Bay Area (East Bay). The name "Soleil" comes from our last name, and is French word for SUN!" We had always had dogs growing up, but in our 3rd year of college, we felt that it was time for a dog of our own. It didn't take us long to decide on getting a boxer, seeing as how we both had always admired the breed. The more we researched the more we fell in love with the breed. Before we truly committed to purchasing our first puppy, we looked at every website possible and attended as many local shows as we could in order to absorb as much information as possible on the breed.
One memorable Saturday in July of 2002, fate would have us meet for the first time Maribess Johnson of Shelterwood Boxers. Maribess would soon become our breeder and mentor to the competitive world of dog shows. We cannot thank her enough for trusting us, "a couple of college kids" and allowing Cassius to be our very first boxer. Not long after, we were back at Maribess' picking up our second boxer Nikki! Cassius and Nikki are the beginnings of Soleil, and what better way to pay tribute than to use their silhouettes in our logo - Nikki on the left, and Cassius on the right. Without Maribess' help, we would be without two joys of our lives, and not be invovled in the fun, competitive world of boxers.
We're an active (busy) family of 4, with young kids beginning sports careers. While the dogs are stil a big part of our lives, we have taken a step back from showing and breeding. Litters may be few years between each, and we are not as active in showing and trialing as we'd like to be. That said, we actively supporting the dogs who represent our breeding programs in the various venues they participate in. We are very proud of our dogs, and take great pride in our carefully planned and researched breedings. We continue to support responsible breeders who do their best to ensure a well-rounded boxer who not only represents the breed in looks, but in temperament and health as well.
Our Goals
Correct Temperament x Health x Structure
We at Soleil do not take breeding lightly, nor do we breed often, as time and space will limit the number of dogs we can keep in our home. Our dogs are family first (we consider our pets part of our family), show/working dogs second. They are on our couches, in our beds, and we wouldn't have it any other way. That being said, our goals when we do decide to breed, is to try to breed towards our ideal boxer; a medium-sized, versatile working dog, who adores his family, and loves to work. We hope that with each breeding, the next generation, will be better than the last. Careful planning goes into each litter, taking into consideration all aspects of a well-rounded boxer. (Health & longevity, temperament and conformation.)
Realistically, not every puppy in every litter will make it to the show ring or working arena. Those puppies will be placed in carefully screened pet homes on non-breeding contracts and limited AKC registration ("limited" meaning no offspring will be eligible to be registered with AKC). The reason for this being there is an over abundance of boxers in rescues and shelters in need of homes. We do not want any dogs we produce to end up in rescue, or their offspring for that matter. All puppies that leave our home, show/working prospect or companion, will also leave on the understanding that if for any reason, the original owner can no longer care for their Soleil boxer, they will make every effort to contact us first, and return the dog to us. Puppies bred by us will leave with either a non-breeding contract (for companion pups). Show and working prospect puppies will remain intact will likely be co-owned with us until said dog is retired/or finished breeding.
Please feel free to contact us if you have more questions.
