wowser!!! How regal!
Cosette Bámidélé
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Hey, all! Here's a picture of Cosette, the Beninese dog I introduced in the new members forum here: https://basenjiforums.com/topic/14142/accidentally-got-a-basenji . She's about 8 1/2 months old here.
Here she's hanging out with Jaguar, one of the few neighborhood pariah dogs who was friendly and liked to play with her. Jaguar, too, seems to share much of his ancestry with the basenji breed standard, despite his yellow color and shaggier coat.
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She is beautiful. Make sure you have her checked regularly for Franconi syndrome.
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@buddy2008 said in Cosette Bámidélé:
She is beautiful. Make sure you have her checked regularly for Franconi syndrome.
? Checked regularly? Fanconi has a DNA test. One time will do it.
I agree, she is beautiful!
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I had a male die in 2008. I knew they were working on a DNA test but I haven't kept up with it. I'm glad it is now available. It is no fun watching a 7 year old pet leave forever.
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Please contact Pam with the florida basenji rescue (Camp Basenji). She has not only the protocols for helping them live longer, but also is working on ways to make them much better ... should you have a dog with Fanconi.
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Thanks, everyone! I hadn't thought to get her checked for Fanconi, since I thought it was only a problem with basenjis descended from the earliest imports, not the more recent ones. That said, BRAT's page says it's a $65 test, so we'll definitely get it done if for nothing more than the peace of mind.
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Just checked in with the forum and found 'accidententially got a Basenji.' Cosette in a native background is amazing. Did you have trouble 'importing' her through to the US? You didn't mention any behavior problems so I assume she is an awesome dog!(Basenji!) love to see more and hear of her adventures and new culture experiences!
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@Buddys-Pal said in Cosette Bámidélé:
Just checked in with the forum and found 'accidententially got a Basenji.' Cosette in a native background is amazing. Did you have trouble 'importing' her through to the US? You didn't mention any behavior problems so I assume she is an awesome dog!(Basenji!) love to see more and hear of her adventures and new culture experiences!
Importing her was actually quite a trial (but worth it). We weren't allowed to take her into the cabin with us, so we had to ship her cargo. If we could have taken the same carrier all the way to the U.S., that would have been fine, but the problem is that most airlines that go to Bénin only fly as far as Europe; then you have to switch to an American carrier. And of these, only American will accept live-animal cargo. So, we booked her on Brussels Airlines, transferring to American in Brussels, while my wife and I would have to continue on United Airlines, since they're partnered with Brussels Airlines. Such a hassle!
But... Everything got thrown into disarray with the Brussels bombings. We were actually scheduled to fly out that very same day! We looked for other options to bring Cosette home, and Brussels Airlines kept telling us to hang tight, the airport would reopen soon. Eventually, though, we were just out of money and had no place to stay, so we convinced Brussels to rebook us on Turkish Airlines. They fly all the way to Washington, D.C., so we were able to stay on the same flight as the dog the whole way, even if the trip was much longer with a layover in Istanbul...
Finally, we had a lot of trouble clearing customs in the U.S., but only because our flight arrived late, and the customs agents who handle live animals were all off work. We bounced back and forth from the cargo area to the customs area a couple of times (all the while, poor Cosette still trapped in her crate) and finally tracked down a customs supervisor to stamp her through. The other option would have been to leave her in the crate with no food or water for the night, and we weren't going to do that!
In the end, it was a huge hassle, but this was mostly due to the unforeseen terrorist attacks. It's totally possible to get a dog from Bénin back to the U.S., and I'd guess the situation would be similar in nearby countries, like Togo or Niger.
Cosette's a great little dog, behaving as far as I can tell like a typical basenji. We're having fun introducing her to the U.S., and I'm sure I'll have lots of questions as we continue to socialize her to a different dog culture here.
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Wow what an adventure back! Look forward to more stories and pictures!
