We Have a Houseguest - a Basenji!!!

[CO Liberal]

The Princess saw something moving outside our window earlier tonight, so I went out on the front porch. I found a small dog with a collar, but no tags. The Princess did a web search, and determined he was a Basenji, like the one in the following picture:



I brought him in the house, and then put him in our back yard along with my dogs. They were so happy to have another playmate! The local Animal Control folks can't get anyone out to us until tomorrow, so I did a web search to see if I could find a Basenji rescue group in the area. I called their contact number and the woman who answered took the information about the dog and gave me a lot of interesting information about the breed. Such as they are very inquisitive, are escape artists, and since they're native to Africa, cannot tolerate the cold very well.

So I set up our old dog crate in the small bedroom where we keep our exercise machine, and brough all the dogs in for the night. The Basenji is in the crate - Peanut is lying down next to the crate, and Pearl is next to Peanut. It's a doggie slumber party!!!

Tomorrow, the woman from the Basenji rescue group will arrange for a foster home until his owner can be located.

[charlyvi]

1. You have a good heart...

I wish I could have your Basenji...they're beautiful!

[Be Brave]

2. Basenjis don't bark, no? n/t

[CO Liberal]

3. That's Right - They are "Barkless"

I wonder how he's gonna let us know if he has to go out? :shrug:

[msgadget]

4. So, how does he communicate?

Can he whine? Or is he a nudger?

[Spinzonner]

5. Would that be Whine Language ?

[msgadget]

8. Could be but I looked it up just to be sure

and they do make an odd noise that sounds remarkably like a bark to me, just...different.

[StrongbadTehAwesome]

6. supposedly Basenjis can make noises, they're just different from

and quieter than the traditional "bark". More like grunts, from what I've heard.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

7. They are really great dogs.

My friends parents used to breed them. They don't actually bark like a dog but they do make a guttural sound.

That was very sweet of you two to take him in for the night! :yourock: Both of you. :)

[bettyellen]

9. the basenji is my ideal breed ...

according to the purina breed selector
but i've never met one!! i am so envious of you. i hear they have a great personality!

this is a fun tool to window shop for dogs, it's got a quiz to find the breed you'd like the most, and then links to where you can find them to adopt in your area. it's fun and has cats too. who knew there were so many cute ones out there. horses and guinea pigs too!


http://sy.adiho.com/ASA/Controller?adi_hasScript=1&_AD_195R22=104&adi_scriptSID=BF0E83A30F9BA707525B563F7B5529D3&sysid=4&appid=9901

[Vidar]

10. In laws used to have one. They can't swim and are incredibly fast.

It was chasing the car. We finally started to lose it around 45 mph,

[RebelOne]

11. Why don't you put up signs around your neighborhood?

It's very possible the dog's owner lives somewhere nearby. And I am glad you called a rescue. If the animal control picked him up and if he isn't claimed or adopted in a matter of a few days, they would euthanize him.

[DELUSIONAL]

12. These are perfect dogs for Democrats -- intelligent, thinking dogs

We lost our Basenji a couple of years ago to cancer and will get another one eventually.

Basenjis are very smart -- they are sight & scent Hounds. Ours was devoted to my husband and she would "talk" to him when he came home -- she would tell him about her day. She did have a voice but not a bark.

They are very clean dogs -- not much shedding. They are very cat like and can climb. They don't like water and don't like getting their feet wet.

They are pack dogs -- do well in groups of two or more -- but also can adapt to being the only dog.

Our Basenji raised a kitten we found when it was 10 days old. I did the bottle feeding but she raised the kitten -- and the two invented games. That cat (her son) is still with us.

They can be destructive -- but any dog can be if not trained and left to its own devices.

They are very picky about where they will pee -- unless they are really pissed at their owners and then a few may engage in what we basenji owners call "revenge" peeing.

My favorite basenji story -- some dog behaviorists wanted to determine the fear reaction of various breeds of puppies to fire crackers. When it came time to test the basenji -- the experimenter put down the fire cracker -- which went boom -- the basenji then bit the person who lit the firecracker.

Many of us consider basenjis to be sort of like a two year old in a dog suit -- these guys are very intelligent.

Hopefully this basenji will find its people -- or will be rehomed -- the Basenji Rescue organization is very active in locating new basenji slaves for abandoned basenjis.

These are also beautiful dogs -- we constantly had people tell us that our basenji was a beautiful dog -- almost regal in her bearing.

My Japanese Bobtail cat is sort of a Basenji in a cat suit -- he's smart and has a lot of dog traits -- my old basenji would have loved him!

Basenji fan and wannbe basenji slave.

[CO Liberal]

13. Doggie Update

Upon closer inspection, it turned out that our houseguest was a little boy - guess that's why my girls were so taken by him.

:-)

And when he barked around 2AM, we knew he wasn't a Basenji. We did more checking on the Internet and discovered that he looked more like a Sheba Ima. He could also be a mixed breeed that looks like a Sheba Ima.

Anyway, we turned him over to the Animal Control officer who stopped by our house about a half-hour ago. She said he looked very well cared for and was very optimistic about finding his owner. And the broken piece of leash that was hanging from his collar was an indication that he had been tied up in a yard and had gotten away.

Our local shelter is owned jointly by the City of Pueblo and Pueblo County, but it's run by the Humane Society. It's where we adopted our girls.