The Good…
▪ Remembering
BJ
▪
Mixing a Basenji Mix with Cats
▪ Abandoned
Puppy to Cherished Companion
▪ First
Impressions
▪ Basenjis
Therapy Dog
▪ First Show Brag
 It has been almost 6 years since
I adopted BJ from the Dallas Basenji Club.
BJ developed Fanconi about one and a half years ago. His
kidneys went into failure in the last few weeks. After spending 4 days in
the hospital with IV dialysis, his nitrogen levels continued to climb.
After his condition continued to deteriorate I decided his quality of life
was too bad to let him suffer. BJ passed on Thursday night April 24, 2003.
I brought his body home and I buried him in the back yard. He was a great
dog and I will truly miss him.
BJ was very smart. He would give you a high-five and even roll over for a
treat. He used to growl and even bark at me when we played while he hopped
up the stairs backwards facing me. He was quite an entertaining dog.
My mother never liked dogs and she never allowed dogs in
her house. Shortly after I got BJ my mother had a stroke. She developed a
liking for BJ and they became the best of friends. I have a picture of BJ
in bed between my Mother and Dad! My Mother had another stroke and was in
the hospital for some time before she passed away. She would always ask
about BJ and how he was. I sneaked him into the hospital to cheer her up.
It did, and all the nurses came in to see him and they loved him. BJ helped
me get through some tough times. When I took BJ to my folks house after my mothers
funeral, BJ looked all over for her. When he could not find her, he slept
on her pillow for weeks. My Dad still has that pillow and every time we
visit my dad, BJ would always sleep on it.
My dad, now 82, loved to keep BJ for me when we were out
of town. He remarried a few years after my mother passed on. Wanda did not
like dogs either, but BJ changed her and she loved him. She always looked
forward to keeping BJ. Wanda passed on last year.
I was single when I got BJ, but he quickly took a liking
to Nancy, my girlfriend. When we were dating he would get on the couch
between us. After we were married, he would sit on her side of the couch!
BJ was Nancy's walking buddy. They would go for walks and BJ would get to
see all of his neighbor dog friends.
BJ loved to lay in the sun. We have decided to bury him
in a sunny spot in the back yard and call our deck/spa/fountain area,
"BJ Park". As dog lovers, I know you would understand this! We
will miss him. As you can see, BJ has helped a lot of people through some
difficult times. He never met anyone he did not like. Thanks for the
memories, BJ.
May you and your dogs enjoy a long, happy life.
Steve Hawkins
Dallas, TX
Paula [Harshberger] asked me to write about our
Basenji Lizzie and her introduction
to our two resident cats, Ozzie and Flicky. By posting this we hope to prevent other
Basenjis from needing to be rescued due to cats in the family and help those who are
thinking of mixing the two.
First off, a little reality: It's not always easy. Nothing to do with raising
Basenjis
or cats or dogs or kids or living life is easy. But it can be done <g>. I
have no magic recipe but I do know that the first, only, and main ingredient is
patience!
On with the story…
Lizzie is a rescued Basenji mix who has been with us
almost a year. She is sweet, lovable and energetic. She sometimes gets
frightened with strangers or kids. If given time she warms up to everything
— even the cats.
Our first cat is a big fat boy named Ozzie. Ozzie has two goals in life: to find a
warm, soft, comfortable place to lay (preferably on my wife Alysia); and where/when is he
going to get his next meal. He is extremely sweet and lovable, likes everyone and is often
known to jump on a guest's lap after a lengthy two-minute courtship.
He and Lizzie get along fairly well. They will often lay on the bed or sofa next to
each other, sometimes even touching noses or sniffing each other for a few seconds.
Flicky, our other cat, on the other hand, is scared of his own shadow. He spooks at
everything. He tolerates Lizzie but is much less friendly about it.
When we first got Lizzie, we would put her in her crate and let the cats wander
around, smelling her and getting used to her noises. Lizzie barked her head off.
After a few “lets get introduced” sessions with her in the
crate and the cats circling, we got up the nerve to introduce Lizzie while
she was on her leash. That was a bit more adventurous as she really wanted
to chase after them. With a lot of
patience which included sitting quietly, petting both animals, talking to the cats and the
dog, etc., she calmed down enough that she wasn't always jumping and moving after them.
Eventually, after many, many hours of sessions as described above we decided we just
needed to be very brave and see how everybody behaved together, out of the crate and off
the leash. (We knew that, in the long run, we couldn't possibly keep everybody separated
forever
and we were determined that we were not going to give up anybody!)
Once we set everyone loose in the same room we found out that it was okay.
Lizzie took off after Ozzie, when he darted in front of her. He turned around, rose up
with a ferocious hiss, bopped Lizzie in the face about three times like a prize fighter,
puffed up his tail and fled the scene. Lizzie was so totally shocked that these
“chase toys” actually stood up to her and slapped her in the face. We think she
quickly realized, “Umm, Mom, Dad, I don't think I really want to chase the kitties
anymore.”
Yes, Lizzie does fly down the stairs after the cats when they run to the basement but
she makes no effort to ever actually catch or bite them.
To the cats′ credit, they've never tried to harm Lizzie. And with all claws intact
they could do damage, if they really wanted to. I think we have been very lucky that the
cats are as gentle as they are and Lizzie has sustained no injuries from them.
I really think that with lots of patience, love and supervision you can get any mix of
cats and Basenji [mixes] to get along.
The Magness Family
My beloved basenji, Timmy, has been gone since
1990, but I laughed and wept when I read these reality stories. He
developed diabetes, lost his sight, and had to be injected with insulin
twice a day. Nevertheless, this intrepid soul stayed with us for 14 years.
I, too, had been unprepared for life with a Basenji. Timmy
had been found, abandoned, in a packing crate in the basement of an
abandoned building in New York City. He was 3 months old. A young single
woman at the time, I fell in love with him and his story.
Soon after I adopted him, my beloved grandmother died. I
was lying on the sofa, crying, when this little dog climbed up on my
chest, put his face just inches from mine, screwed up his brow in that
quizzical look, then began to cry along with me. Real tears began flowing
down his face as he mirrored my emotions.
When I married and we left the city, we put Timmy in the family room,
closed the door and left for work the first day. When we returned, he had
burrowed almost completely through the wall leading to the back yard. If
the house had not been made of brick, he would have been gone. Wallpaper
was also peeled in other areas, and I saw springs in the sofa where none
had appeared before.
Obviously, that wasn't going to work, so the next day we gave him free
reign. When we returned home that evening, Timmy was sitting proudly at
the top of the stairs. Displayed neatly, and with military precision, was
a lineup of our shoes. He had gone into both closets, carefully brought
each shoe out, lined them up in pairs on the landing and waited. This was,
we understood immediately, a warning. Leave me alone again, and these
hostages will be gone. Wasted. We immediately bought a crate.
I could regale you with Timmy stories forever, and I'm sure you could
all relate. I now have a long-haired miniature dachshund, who is sweet and
loving, but someday I will return to the fascinating, challenging world of
Basenji-dom!
Lynn Flaster
Westport, CT
Prior to last Sunday, I knew nothing about
Basenjis. In
fact, the only one I had ever seen was on TV showing off at the Westminster dog show. My
impression was: “What a beautiful breed, how spirited; they must be so quiet to have around…they don't bark!” (Of course, that was before I heard my first yodel.)
I decided I wanted to add one of these wonderful little dogs to my
family of two rescue cats. Excited and full of hope, I contacted the Basenji rescue folks
and found that a dog was available…and only about 40 miles from my house. (sigh)
It must be fate!
It was only then that I began doing my homework and researching the breed. I bumped
into these reality stories on BRAT's Web page. Amusing stories, cleverly written, but surely
not real! Oh no, no, no! They've got to be fiction. Who in their right mind would own such a breed?
Dogs that eat mini blinds and chew everything in sight!?! Surely the owners of these
animals are the most loving, patient, easy-going people on earth. It must be these
horrible dogs!
Naturally, I began to think twice about this rescue business. That night, I dreamed
about a Basenji with teeth like an alligator, biting through his lead as I held it;
chewing a hole in my chain link fence and escaping to Iowa during a brief moment of
inattention while I sneezed.
I forged ahead, in spite of my fears!
Can you imagine my pleasure (and relief) when I actually got to visit my new girl and
the first thing she did was lick my face then poke her nose in my jacket pocket looking
for treats? Did somebody say they were aloof?
Her name is Katie and I think we probably met in a past life. She's sweet, friendly,
and she even tolerates the cats. Sitting on the floor with her, I asked her if she thought
she would like to give living in Raymore a shot. She looked at me as if to say,
“Where's the car parked?”
I also visited a litter of Basenji puppies. I saw only beautiful, friendly animals.
Only one dog showed any Houdini tendencies. All the dogs were “happy as clams”
to meet someone new and I had a great time. In fact, I heard myself saying,
“Maybe after Katie
has settled in and feels secure, I'll take a puppy too.”
Morale of the story: Now I understand why the authors of the reality stories hang in
there with their dogs. This breed has a way of getting to you, real quick. And once they
get to you—like potato chips—one just isn't
enough.
It's official: After 4 months of working
“on
probation” with a local animal-assisted therapy organization here in
Sacramento, Jake and I have “graduated”!
This has been a wonderful experience for both of us. We visit
hospitals, elementary schools, and nursing homes. We have discovered there
is more to working these programs than taking Jake to be petted. We have learned that
the goal of
every interaction is to facilitate the healing process and to contribute
to the improvement of the client's overall well-being.
Our final evaluation reads: Jake is just too
cute and the patients really notice that darling face of his. We are happy
they will be seeing more of him. He relaxes, rests his head on knees,
etc., does a wonderful “squinty eye” which shows contentment…all in all, you and
“Cary Grant” make a wonderful team.
Jackie and Jake Kuhwarth
Sacramento, CA
Some of you may know that we adopted little Arrow on a
show contract from Linda and Richard Stilwell. Of course, neither Kathy nor I ever want to
get in a show ring but Linda said that was OK—she would show Arrow for us.
Well, the little guy is around 16 weeks old and today went to his
first puppy fun match. He had never been on a lead before so we figured this would be an
adventure. <g>
He did really well at the show site—sniffing and playing a little with the other dogs
around. He even did his business on command.
Performing in the ring was a little tougher. He was not too excited about people
looking at his teeth and the smells on the mat were much more interesting than the treats
Linda had in her hand. But, after all that, Arrow finished second in a class of five
puppies. We were very pleased, and so was Linda, the expert handler. (And
thanks, of course, to judge Betty Taylor.)
So, we need to work on Arrow's table skills, but it looks like he might have a little
potential in the show ring.
Mike Swan
Dallas, TX
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