• Is this still an active organization? We have adopted three Basenjis, the two most recent from this chapter, traveling to Sacramento to pick them up. Now that our Basenji is nearing the end of life, we cannot find any basenji's to adopt in our region. What goes?


  • Susan, fortunately there are less backyard/puppymill breeders, so less Basenjis are going into rescue. Many that do are middle to older aged, some with health issues. BRAT is still active, so contact the local chapter or the national as there are often dogs that simply aren't listed.

    https://www.basenjirescue.org/ I see only one dog listed
    http://basenjirescue.org/dogs-mixes/default.asp they do have several mixes

    Another option is to contact breeders to see if they have young adults needing homes.
    https://www.basenji.org/about-basenjis/breeder-directory


  • Oh, definitely, BRAT is still very active. Currently, there is only one Basenji listed on their website, but I know that there are many in various stages of rehabilitation who aren't ready for adoption. There is one currently in foster in OR, and they're trying to get some information about a pair that are in an OR shelter at the moment. Not sure what's in CA at the moment, but rest assured, there's no shortage of rescues out there. Do you have a current application in with BRAT?
    -Joanne


  • There is a foster in the Sacramento area right now.


  • @debradownsouth Potential owners should never turn down a Senior Dog. Their Owner may have died or fallen on hard times, or some other catastrophic event that caused them to give up their Dog. Basenjis are incredibly loyal so when you bring an older dog into your home make sure that you give them their space so they can adjust to their new environment. Rescued Animals know that the new person has made their life better!


  • @antigone said in Sacramento, CA BRAT:

    @debradownsouth Potential owners should never turn down a Senior Dog.

    Rescue nor anyone else should demand someone take a senior dog. Bless those who can and will, but that's like someone saying everyone should adopt pitbulls because there's too many in rescue. People looking to adopt get to choose what they are comfortable with. Many don't want puppies. I respect that people have the brains to know what they are comfortable with.

    A for Joanne's "rest assured, there's no shortage of rescues out there"... that is patently not true if someone wants a dog that isn't senior or doesn't have health issues. We have had people here who could not even get a response from BRAT or told they had nothing available. This reduction has been true for years. Unless Liz Newton is lying

    During the economic recession BRAT bought many Basenjis from auctions, rescuing and placing between 300–350 Basenjis per year. In recent years we have seen a great decline in the number of Basenjis rescued because fewer puppy mills are going out of business, fewer mills are producing Basenjis, and fewer Basenjis are being sold in pet stores. << (2015)

    In 1999, Brat web page said they place about 250 dogs annually. I would be surprised if they did half that in 2017. Sadly, if their yearly stats are available, I can't find them.


  • You can always also contact breeders that might be wanting to place could be looking to place an x-show dog that they are not using for breeding or possible an adult they have gotten back for whatever reason. You might need to travel a bit, but check out breeders in OR/WA for sure. I know for a fact that FoPaws in WA (Therese Leimback) have two middle aged to place from an owner return. Don't know what the current situation is, there is a male and a female. You can find her on facebook. Highly recommend either of these two


  • @debradownsouth I do think it is best for experienced Basenji people to take the Seniors as they already know what to expect. If they want to save a life and give the dog a fabulous end of life experience then that is who I meant. Sorry for not qualifying my statement.


  • @tanza said in Sacramento, CA BRAT:

    You can always also contact breeders that might be wanting to place could be looking to place an x-show dog that they are not using for breeding or possible an adult they have gotten back for whatever reason. You might need to travel a bit, but check out breeders in OR/WA for sure. I know for a fact that FoPaws in WA (Therese Leimback) have two middle aged to place from an owner return. Don't know what the current situation is, there is a male and a female. You can find her on facebook. Highly recommend either of these two

    Great recommendation. Breeders who take dogs back are also virtually guaranteed to give you a good description of the dog's personality and their pluses and minuses.

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