Our Ella is going on 11 months and she has never yodeled. Actually, one time when she was unhappy in her crate I caught her making a yodel from outside our front door. We have tried to encourage her by yodeling ourselves and by playing her videos on youtube. We only get the occasional low grrrr when we come home. So we are accepting the fact that she is not a yodeler. But we are really appreciating our mostly silent barkless dog. So peaceful.

I was about to post the attached picture that I saw in episode 3 of Cosmos where I noticed for about two seconds this pair of Basenjis randomly playing in a 17th century English coffee house.

That is so awesome. Khalani even has the same blaze and the same little hint of a tooth peeking out. Adorable. How do they do it?

I am dog sitting two Vizlas this week and the cuteness is overwhelming me. Here are a few samples.

I haven't been active on the forum for about a year but I have collected a large number of good pictures. I mean, you can't take a bad picture of a Basenji right? Here are a few.

DebraDownSouth;164148]Okay so I am laughing. I clicked the link, posted there on Youtube that she is amazing, came back and read comments. Amazing is THE word she inspires people to utter! Do you use boots on her in the snow? How the heck were YOU moving so fast, holding a camera?

I have to admit I was hoping for this type of reaction. She is AMAZING. All of our Bs are amazing but Ella probably gets a little more notice since the accident. We make quite a splash on the cross country ski tracks.

I have never used booties for Ella but about 8-10 days a year it is cold enough that I think about it. On those days, she really doesn't want to spend much time outside anyway. I rarely hear a good recommendation for a bootie that stays on. But i would be happy to hear of one. She does have a nice winter coat from Montana Dogwear that we wear most of the time. It was pretty warm and sunny when we shot that video,

I managed to control the leash, my ski poles and the camera. But we have skied that section of trail hundreds of times so it really is not that hard. We are both expert cross country skiers. Thanks again for your support.

As reported here in the forum, she was hit by a car last year. A horrific day for all. But she is pretty much exactly the same dog she was before the accident. I was already wanting to write a book called, Everything I Know About Life I Learned From My Dog. But since the accident she really has shown us what life is all about! She is a joy and an inspiration. But mostly she is Ella, our Basenji.

Attached is a link to a short video of Ella and I doing our regular cross country ski lunch time walk. She starts to pick up a little speed about halfway through. To restate the obvious, she is missing one leg. Hopefully you will see that she gets around pretty good and we have a good time. I will try post another one later showing her going at top speed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMMCiQyjcPo

This is a really silly post. But with the release of The Hobbit movie in the next couple of weeks I reread the book this weekend.

My wife and I have decided that although Basenjis came to us from Africa that they originally hail from Middle Earth. They seem eminently Tolkien-like creatures. In Middle Earth they use their ears to fly long distances and in dark and dangerous forests they sleep hanging from their curled tails. Although they have also been know to fly into Eagles nests and sneak in and bed down with Eaglets. Because as we know, a Basenji can get along with any creature, even a dragon if necessary. In Middle Earth they speak their ancient language of ur-Basenji, although they are famous for being able to keep secrets.

One breed to Rule Them All…

Well thanks for the overwhelming positive support Not that I am surprised. Although I am surprised by the number of responses in one day. Most of the things mentioned are things we have already thought about. Yes, she would be an good candidate for a therapy dog–except she is distrustful of strangers. Yes, we only have 3 paws to trim nails on. Yes, her missing leg is not even the first thing you notice on the videos. Yes, she can still run faster than most other dogs (she can fly when has a good reason!). And mostly, yes our dogs teach us to live in the moment and with joy. But thanks for mentioning all of those things.

I have mostly avoided the Basenji forum since Ella was hit by a car in April and lost one of her hind legs. She has been amazing and except for a few weeks of being drugged and having stitches she has been pretty close to her regular self since soon after the accident. She almost escaped from the clinic the morning after the amputation. They assumed she would be docile but she tried to jump a fence. She is definitely happy and healthy.

It has been an inspirational experience This terrible thing happened yet we feel blessed and lucky and we appreciate her all the more. And she is pretty much the exact same trouble maker, full of vim and vigor and a personality that really has not changed at all. Dogs don't dwell on the past or have regrets And we have taken our cue, in this matter as well as most other matters, from our Basenji.

If you ever thought it was hard to not be noticed while walking a Basenji, just imagine what it is like walking with a cute and energetic three-legged Basenji! We are stopped constantly. She is showered with attention and love, which mostly she wants little to do with–in typical basenji fashion.

I have attached a few pictures,most of which do not really highlight the missing leg. Which is as it should be. They are just cute pictures of her. I have also attached a link to youtube page with a few short videos from the last couple of weeks

Here is the you youtube link--there are 3 basenji videos on it, as well as few of bear in a tree in our neighborhood.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLAg5kGnH5Y&feature=plcp