Sheba pulled me on her leash tody!

[MarleyJo]

Now I know that may not be unusual behavior for most of you. And I know
I cant allow this behavior to continue but let me explain my excitement.
We adopted this 8 year old who is completely blind. She is the most loving
and relaxed Basenji we have ever been around. We have tried to be very consistant with our walks. Same directions, same distances, same obstructions. She has stayed right by our sides, totally trusting us unless she wanders to the grassy ditches to do her "business". Today I snapped on her leash and collar, opened the door and away she went. Down the steps, up the driveway and down the road. ( All 26 feet of her extenda-leash ) I actually got her to run for a bit. Even the regulars on our walk were commenting on how confident she looked. I know I will have to reel her in but for now she is happy. Now if I could just get her to quit snoring she would be just about perfect. Oh, and now she stops to sniff things and when you try to pull her she leans away with all of her weight. I have to smile.

[Schouiffy]

that is so heart warming. congrats

[rnasto]

YAY congratulations Sheeba and parents

[sharronhurlbut]

Yea! love this..my old dear girl became blind before she passed…and we didn't know it for a long while.
She knew the house and the backyard and just was not worried that anything would be out of place.
Hugs for your girl having found your wonderful home.

[youngandtired]

Sheba is very special, I didn't realize she was blind, and how special you must be to take her in, and love her so much. Love will make you confident, even a basenji, hey, aren't they human, hehe!!!!

[sharronhurlbut]

MarleyJo is a very special family.
We are lucky they live in the PNW and open their hearts and home to special needs rescue dogs.
YOU BOTH ROCK!

[wizard]

Congratulations on working with a blind pup. My first basenji became blind in one eye pretty early on - it's not the same as totally blind but there were a lot of issues for him (particularly moving vehicles). Good luck to you!

[MarleyJo]

Thank you for all the replies. You got to love this group. Everyone is so nice, supportive and sharing. I tried to take a few pics from our walk today. They may not be up to par with the photos in this group but its kind of tough when your dog is pulling you! And Sharron I know we were hesitant in the beginning
but thank you for Sheba. I promise we are spoiling her rotten. We are up to 4 miles again.

[snorky998]

Lovely story, Marley Jo. I hope your Sheba continues to pull, explore, and "see" new things in her environment every day. That's why they are endowed those huge ears, and those wonderfully powerful (and cute) noses.

You're my Basenji mom of the year nominee!!! Keep the updates and the pictures coming.

[Schouiffy]

I second the Basenji mom of the year award.. completely. You are such a inspiration

[sharronhurlbut]

Yes, this family does all for their b's. Your b that passed had diabetis sp didn't she/he?
sorry, I am forgetting.
This girl, well, we were in need of a foster home. My regular foster home has 3 active dogs, and Sheba was just not able to play with them due to her vision issues.

This family had just lost their beloved b..and really weren't ready, but they did open their door and hearts to Sheba.
course, the fact that Sheba was cute on toast sure didn't hurt.
Yes, they do deserve Basenji home of the year.
I do know they have earned their stars in heaven.

[bellabasenji]

Such an inspirational story, and such a sweet Basenji girl…:)

[MarleyJo]

Thank you all for the kind words but you are giving us way to much credit. True our last pooch ( Marleyjo ) died suddenly from brain cancer. She was a Fanconi dog that we treated for many years ( more than 7 years ). The day after her passing we found this group and it helped us remember all the wild and trying times we spent with "The Mo". You all helped us smile again. We volunteered with BRAT and were immediately contacted by Sharron. We wanted to donate time and $$$ to help us grieve. We were hesitant to foster knowing we would probably keep everything we fostered. After hearing Shebas story ( starting in a puppy mill in Modesto in 2001 ) and knowing she would take some work and money to get her back to health we had to try or feel guilty for not even attempting. We are VERY lucky. Flexible work schedules. Quiet one story house. Travel frequently with our previous dog. Sheba came to us already potty trained and totally trusting. No behavioral issues that normally come with rescue dogs. Just health and handicap stuff. We could hold her and bathe her and hug her and squeeze her and spoil her. To this day she has not grumbled once. So thank you again for ALL of the kind words and accolades but we were truly just VERY lucky and were inspired by all of you crazy Basenji people. Hopefully we will get several more good years with her and I promise to keep you all up to date on our adventures. She has already spent several weeks traveling the west coast and we plan to continue for years to come.