Happy Ending Story: Simon
 In 2001, one of the BRAT coordinators called and said
there was an 8-year-old boy in Maryland that desperately needed a home. His
original family had given him to their son and his family, and the teenagers
had teased him and as a result he had turned aggressive. I already had a
male Basenji and a female, but agreed to take him on. He arrived at O'Hare
airport one night at 11:00. By mistake, one of the luggage handlers had put
his crate, with him in it, on the conveyor belt! We grabbed him off quickly,
signed all his paperwork, opened his crate door and put the leash on him.
Away I flew through the lobby, holding on for dear life. He sure was glad to
get out!
 Introductions were made in the middle of the night out in
front of my house. All Basenji's sniffed and snarked, most of the
consternation coming from the two males. We all survived and thus began our
lives as a pack. Having three Basenji's is so much different than two, but
I'd never do anything differently. The males established a truce, and the
little female loved them both. Simon never showed any signs of aggression
with any human that he ever encountered. He was never a yodeler, either-a
very quiet dog, never asking for attention but receiving affection gladly.
Eight years later, he has seen his brother and sister
pass, and another brother that we adopted after the first boy died. He is a
very healthy and happy 16 years old, living with his sister, Kenya. He has
declined somewhat in the last year - I believe he is quite deaf, as he no
longer runs into the kitchen when the cabinet doors open. However, he can
see pretty well, and has only just begun to lose his balance at times. We
have wood floors and his legs go out from under him, but he gets right up.
He can run pretty fast when he wants to. All he wants to do now is sleep
(see recent photo of him doing his favorite thing) and cuddle, which is just
about the best you could ask for.
Lynda Vital, Libertyville, Illinois |
