How did you and your B come together?

[vstripe]

I was familiar with basenji's from my boyfriend his parents had a pair when we first started dating. I actually did not like basenji's that much at first because one of there dogs was pretty agressive the other was really shy and would just hide when I would go over the house. Soon after the dogs died of old age and they bought another basenji which his dad still has.
We moved out together and I really wanted a new dog so while waiting for winter time to talk to the breeder I would glance on petfinder and basenji rescue of So Cal and I saw a scruffy looking B at an all breed rescue place. His profile said he was fantastic with people kids and dogs. So, we went to the rescue and my boyfriend told me this dog is a special basenji and we just took a chance not knowing a single thing about his past other than he was passed from a city shelter to a rescue.
Its now years later and my boyfriend raves that this is by far the best behaved well rounded basenji he has ever lived with. Its my first and only basenji so I dont know any different but I can say he is a really easy dog that just chills all day so I'm super happy with the choice we made

[tanza]

@Quercus:

<>
Pat! When did your dogs get so old!!! They were young things when I first got to know you on the B-list! I guess that was about 9 years ago...time flies....hugs to the oldies

No kidding... I have no idea were the time has gone!!!! I am just thankful each day they are all still here and doing pretty well!

[abby_basenji]

I had researched basenji's because I was looking for a playmate for my mixed breed missy. Missy is like a miniture black lab, she looks just like a lab but she is the size if a terrier. So I was looking for a smaller dog but not a terrier. Looked at several pictures of dogs and I saw a basenji. I thought what a cute dog and she has a curly tail just like my missy does. Full grown she should be the right size. Had no idea where to find one or anything. So two years later I saw an add in my local paper for a basenji from this lady in southern Illinois who breeds basenji's as well as several other types of dogs. She had asked me if I would be interested in a little older puppy that could not be registered. I didn't care if she could be registerd or not that was not what I was after. So I went and got this puppy a beautiful B&W basenji, we named her pepper. Pepper was how do I want to put this she was nuts. She couldn't be left alone at all, she would scream awful and so loud we even put her in and inerior room in the basement when we went to work for fear someone would break down the door to try to get her out. Anyway I came home from work on the second day and she had tried so hard to get out of her kennel that she prolapsed her rectum. Rushed her to the vets office and they put her back together and kept her for a while, the vet called and told me that after she was there for a while that it prolapsed again. he stated that maybe it could be fixed with surgery and if she could be kept not in a kennel with somebody all the time she would live a happy healthy life. That person was not me as my husband and I both work, to make a long story short I ended up taking her back to the breader and she felt so bad and wanted to make it right, and she did. She gave me another puppy that was 2 mos old. This puppy was like the difference between night and day, she was much calmer and less timid and less needy klingy. Her name is now Abby Lynn and I am sure I will get another one. I love Abby and as much trouble she gets into and stuff she destroys I would not change anything about her personality.

[youngandtired]

Yea, isn't it something that although me have trouble at times with these dogs we all say that we Love them so much and would not trade them for money or gold.
I was shopping in the mall with my 23 yr. old son and he wanted to go in the Pet shop. I said, "No", I really don't have time, let's get what we came here for, I need to get home. Well, he promised just for a moment to see what they have. My hubby had suggested that we get a house dog since our son had moved out, and we had never had a dog after being married for 26 yrs. but he had so many specifications of what he wanted. Not yappy, short hair, no grooming needs, small or med. size so he could live in the house, this and that. Well, I got aggravated and told him I would never find a dog like this, I wanted a Yorky, he didn't. So I had not been looking, and when my son found this dog I wanted her. I loved the curly tail, and she fit the specifications, but the problem was convincing Dad via the cell phone that she was worth $1300 dollars. We left and went to the food court to eat dinner and talk to Dad on the cell, and discuss why I needed this dog. My son said, "Mom if you wait to convince Dad she will be gone when you get back, let's go see and hold her again" Well, she nailed the sell, she licked me right in the face and just melted my heart. My son said, "Mom I will give you $500. I said, "Let me think, go call Dad again". He came back and said, "Dad said do what you want to do". And I did, her name is Sahara and both my husband and I are a slave to her. My hubby loved her the firt time he saw her, he says everyday to her, "Daddy loves his Sahara". She has brought us so many laughs, even though she does get into our stuff and has chewed up a few things. But all things considered they are just stuff, and I had rather have the love of my Sahara than things.

[cleopatra]

These are all such amazing and diverse stories. I am really glad I asked the question. Please keep the stories coming.

[SweetShelby]

This is a great thread. I love to hear how everyone were taken over by their furbabies. I was also one of those people who was nev er going to get another dog. My golden has passed away at 14 years old and it was so hard going through that. We had moved to Australia for a couple of years and it seemed everyone I met had sweet dogs. I so missed a dog to cuddle and care for so when we got back to the states, I started to seach on the net for a dog to adopt. I was looking at labrador retrievers. I found Shelby at a fairly local shelter in PA and as soon as I saw her in person, I called my dh and said I was bringing a dog home. She was listed as a lab/pug mix. The only possible pug about her was the cool curly tail. After getting her home and realizing she was not a "normal" dog, I did some research and found out about basenjis. Although she looks like a skinny lab puppy with a curly tail, she behaves classic B. I love her so much that I can't imagine life without her. So of course I figured she needed a friend. I wanted another B because I love the quirky personality and independence and intelligence. I contacted BRAT and in March someone e-mailed me that a basenji mix in a shelter in NJ was facing the long green mile. We took Shelby up to meet him and he came home with us. Vince is more lab than basenji but he's a sweetie and I am his slave too.:D

[Quercus]

After my husband (Tim) and I got married, we wanted to get a dog, but we had a very small house (with no fenced yard). I had always been intrigued by Basenjis…but was somewhat intimidated by their reputation. But I did some online research, and then called the BCOA contact...she sent me on to talk to our regional contact in Cleveland, who then gave me a list of names. One name was really quite close to us, Vickie Perrine, so we went to visit her and her dogs..and I was completely smitten. Both Rosa and Tessa curled up and sat with me the entire visit. So we contacted the breeder that Vickie got her dogs from, Dr. Tracy Leonard; we got on her list for a pet, red and white male. When it was time for the pups to go to their new homes, the one Tracy had picked for us was very nice, and she suggested we try to show him...I thought that sounded like fun. So that is how we got involved. We also tried lure coursing with Querk, he hated it....but he likes training..he got his CGC, and he also tried agility..but he was quite a bit unfocused.

So two years later we got a new house, with a fenced yard, and we added Ivy, and then the next year Blondie, and then Bella (these girls are from Taji, Katie Campbell.) Two years after that we added Luna (Querk's daughter), and then this year Ariel (the full Af). We MUST stop adding dogs

[hdterry]

My cocker spaniel died about 1 1/2 years ago and I was more than ready for new addition to our family. I did ALOT of research on the internet and came across a web site www.dogbreeds.com and started going down the list. We started with the Jack Russells but after a month or so crossed them off and started looking again. One morning I sat in front of my computer and went through every breed starting with the "A's" and then I got to Basenji. I clicked on BRAT's web site and read and looked at the ones up for adoption. When I read my Jojo's bio I just knew she was for us. She was in Tampa, FL area but thanks to BRAT she was driven part of the way to TN!! She is 11 yrs young and we have had her for two months and are totally in love with her. I can't imagine life with out her. BRAT is a GREAT organization. They just finished up their calendar pix entries for 2008. They will have them on sale later and they have a cookbook going on sale soon as well to help raise funds for rescueing this wonderful breed…

[nomrbddgs]

I had a boxer named Tigger who suddenly became ill. I had started researching different breeds about six months before because I felt that if something were to happen, I wanted a leg up on another breed. Well, after Tigger was sick and on meds for 3 months, we (the vet and I) decided to change his meds on a Monday. I didn't give him his old meds that night and by Tuesday morning he couldn't even stand. I phoned the vet, told her I was coming in, and put him to sleep right away. In this time I had narrowed down to four different breeds and had decided on the Basenji. I started to research breeders and found Robyn's Sherwood Basenji's the best for information, and found Robyn to be very informative. I bugged her for a puppy from her next litter and lo and behold-drove down to pick up Shadow. I have never regretted getting the breed (even after all the destruction, screaming, chicken catching, etc) and I love my little comics!

[seko]

I saw my first basenjis 10 years ago in the Republic of Centrafica (I was ther as an non gouvernamental organisation worker), I was supposed to get one but a civil war didn't let me any time to.
Then back in France I try to find a breeder and din't find anybody at that time!
Then I travel again and it was when in Scotland that I finally got my first pup, I was on a waiting list for 2 years, the bitch didn't take the first time then she got a singleton the breeder kept. But she sent me to this other one who had a litter of r/w, I got a little boy called Bredand the Tycoon, but it turn out really quickly that the poor soul was really sick, my vet thought of a gastro but he turned out to be afflected by ISPD as where 3 of his litter mates.
With the vet school of Edinburgh we tried to find a cure but seing the puppy not growing, being lethargic, not eating properly and having an almost constant diarhea, I decided to have him put to sleep at the age of 8 months.

A couple of months later the same breeder is calling me because he's got a tri
pup of 10 months he couldn't keep because he wasn't settling with his pack.
I knew the owners of the parent's,I met for a job application and I phone them, they asked me to please take the dog who was really unhappy.
So here was my 2nd basenji.
I came back in France a year later and got a r/w bitch because the tri was suffering of separation anxity, I thought that would solve the problem :rolleyes: .
2 years later these 2 ones decided to have a litter, the vet told me not to have her abord and that' how I have now 4 b's(1 tri, 3r/w) and plan to have other ones soon!

I remember a breeder telling me that b's where like potatoes crisps once you open the bag, you can't stop, I had then only one and laughed at her

[WeLuvBasenjis]

I have a sister much younger than I am. Growing up she had always begged for a puppy. Sometime after I had moved out, our parents finally gave in, with one condition…they get a Basenji. My stepdad had a B growing up and that was the only dog he would consider. I know they spent some time researching and explaining to my teenage sister the responsiblity of owning a dog, and specifically a B. I wasn't much of a dog person and I had never heard of Basenjis, but the first time I saw Zoe I was completely smitten.
Within three years, my sister was of driving age and really wasn't holding up her end of the dogcare deal. My parents started talking about giving Zoe away. At the time I was renting a house that didn't allow pets. I told my parents there was no way they were giving that dog away! I quickly found another place to live and Zoe has been with me (and my husband) ever since. I don't even remember life without a basenji...and I never want any other kind of dog.

[ChristyRutherford]

I have always wanted a basenji since I can remember. I dont even know how I came about having them as my favorite breed. It probably had something to do with being a tribal dog and hunting lions. My dream b would have been a red and white puppy with perfect symetrical markings on his face.
The years go by, and I finally purchase my first home May of 2005. I had about 5 months of remodeling to do, but started looking for my dream B. I found Joshua on the BRAT list and he sounded perfect and he loved to wear t-shirts. I applied for him, but did not get picked. I had my home interview and met up with Virginia Slayton of BRAT.
She got to know me and what I was looking for and heard about an open faced tri in my state. He was NOT what I was looking for. He was small, with bad skin, spooky, nervous, 3yo, not a red and white handsome boy. However I heard his story of how he needed to be loved, and fed, and socialized. How he had been mistreated and left alone and didnt have a bed- just a step in an oustside basement. Virginia sent me pictures of this skinny boy with the sad story and I fell in love and knew right then. Yeah, I wanted a puppy with no "issues" but I also wanted to rescue one. The perfect dogs and pups will always find a home and they will be fine and happy. The not so perfects need someone like me. Squiggy is now healthy with a bit more weight on him, his skin is much better. He will look at me now, he does not pace even 10% as much as he did, he doesnt duck and squint when I go to pet his head anymore, he can handle some loud noises. Is he perfect? no, but neither am I. He still leaves me "gift" once and a while when I leave (much less than when i got him), he eats pillows and "hemmed" my daybed cover (but that is his bed, so OK? I guess), he steals things out of my purses (he just stole a bottle of perfume and took the lid off, spilled the bottle and rolled in it, but at least it smelled good). No, he is not perfect–but he is perfect to me and for me. He is my partner in crime:)

I thank Virgina of BRAT for giving me a chance. I am a single 28yo gal that works full time and lives alone. (although I do come home for my hour lunch everyday)
She could have blew me off as someone who just moved and "wanted a dog". I actually got him the day after I moved in my new house, November 2nd 2005. We got home at 9pm from picking him up and went straight to bed. I let him out the next morning and went in to get coffee. I came out and he was gone. Come to find out he was so thin he slipped THROUGH the 4 inch pickets of my fence! I now have a beautiful new picket fence that my dad and I put up with 3inch spaces.

Sorry so long... I am just a proud mom and love to talk about my boy squiggy.
My Mom also liked squiggy so much she had Virginia find her one too.

[WBL]

What a wonderful thread!

I don't have a Basenji yet, but I have always been fascinated by the breed for as long as I can remember. But to start to I knew I wanted a boxer to begin with, and now I have Reggie. I am more of a big dog person but have always loved Basenjis and Italian greyhounds. I started to love Basenjis more when Reggie befriended one down the street. But, i still seemed to like IG's more. When I decided that it was time to add another dog I looked into IG's first. I spent months researching the breed and talked to several breeders, it occured that IG's are not the right breed for me and the family, the biggest being the difficult to house break and fragility. So I looked more into the Basenji breed, I read every book there is about the breed, every internet site I think there is, lol, and then joined the forum.

The basenji breed seems to be just what would fit us for a smaller dog. They compact, hardy, short haired, love exercise but are content in snuggling (most) after exercise, easier to house break, have big personalties ( a big plus in my book).

Strong willed and stubbornness doesn't bother me at all. After having boxers and being a dog trainer I have learned how to get the dog to willing work with you, not you breaking the dog. And as far as thier personality from every description I have read they are my boxer and cat all in one body, lol.

Now I can't wait to get one, I have talked to two breeders and I am waiting to see how it goes from here.

[Ambered]

i was born into basenjis. my mother and older sisters showed and bred basenjis. my mom got her first basenji in 1957 from a pound. she became friends with a breeder in south florida named faye klingmeyer. when i was born (1982) all of mom's bs were from faye's stock. 1985 we moved to rural alabama. there was not much opportunity for showing in the area. mom did breed 2 more litters, mostly for family who wanted puppies. one puppy was stolen and supposedly taken to texas. fast forward-all the basenjis eventually died off. including my first bboy "tonka". who i tried to convince my mother to sneak into the hospital when i was in 2nd grade to visit me.
not much time goes by and my sister kathy shows up with a little bgirl who mom called tiki (mooncreek's kahn tiki). tiki was a wonderful basenji, she was cuddly and a talker. my sister, billie took tiki horseback riding with her and she rode in the saddle. tiki was tragically killed in her own yard when a ups truck ran her over. my mother was heartbroken.
i started searching madly for another b for my mom. luckily susan schroder, (legend's basenjis) who was also a friend of faye's put me in contact with gale whitehurst (undercover). she had a brother/sister pair of tris she was looking to place. mom wanted both of them. now she also has mandie, a byb rescue that my aunt found and little stormie. (mooncreek's stormy weather, there is lots of info on here about her, lol)
when mom got her tris i absolutely fell in love with her boy, vegas. he was so good with my son, i decided we needed a dog of our own. i contacted BRAT but was told they did not like to place dogs in homes with small children. i went to the evergreen basenji club specialty last year and met some breeders. one had a retired show dog needing placed. he was a very laid back dog so my hopes were high. i was offered a trial period and unfortunately the dog bit my friend's son. i was devistated. so i returned to dog to the breeder.
i wrote gale at undercover asking for advice, she recommended a couple breeders including mary k quinnett at platinum basenjis. this was sept so i knew there would be no puppies. mary k wrote back saying she had a 5 month old that she had kept to show, but the others were beating up on. my ideal b was red and white with a symmetrical white blaze. she had not described the puppy to me at all. i show up and meet "russell" (akc platinum's fremont desert storm) a gorgeous red and white with a symmetrical blaze. he let my son and her little girls lie all over him. he took a shining to me. mary kay and i knew it was right. so i drove home to "talk it over" lol with hubby. i couldnt get the name fender out of my head. the next week we all drove out together and picked up russell now fender and he had been turning my life upside down ever since.

[dmcarty]

We had always had a dog or two - but then my husband developed allergies - so when our last dog Tag the springer died I thought we were done. The kids really wanted a dog again (well really it was me - but heck they blame stuff on everybody else)

But what to do about the allergies. We had heard that some breeds might be better than others so we would go to pet stores, or the dog exhibit at the state fair and he would pet the dog and wait to see if he could still breath or if his skin broke out in spots. The only dog that he didn't have a bad reaction to was a basenji - We mulled and thought about it and decided to get one and poof - none in the paper and this was way before internet - so every week I just waited for a puppy ad. Finally there was one that I had seen before so my daughter and I drove to the other end of the state to get Sheba (how many basenjis are named Sheba?) I asked all the right questions (or so I thought) and got all the right answers (or so I thought) She would run around outside and play with my kids and run after them on their bikes - no one ever told me that they should not be loose - so the UPS man ran her over one day. All of us were devistated so needed to get another one. This time I called a groomer who had a show catalog and gave me some names, we called around and in that process - saw all the things we missed with our first 'breeder'. We became the proud owner of an 18 month female 'Wicket' she had 8 points and was to be shown - With a handler she got one major and the first time I showed her - I got WB to finish so I was hooked. She was my foundation bitch and was the most wonderful charming darling basenji who when she was 'with pup' one year she ate 8 childrens' coats - she liked to chew the top of the zipper where they slobbered.

So here I am 23 years and several generations later.

[cleopatra]

Wow, I am so glad I asked the question. These are some very amazing stories.

We have had Zuri for 3 weeks today and have fallen in love with her! I am so enjoying her that I called the breeder to see if her brother was still available…..how exciting that would be...but...unfortunately he has been adopted. I can certainly see another Basenji in my future.

[Ambered]

dmcarty, so sad we both lost Bs to U.P.S.
I hope that people are paying attention so that it never happens to them.