Just call me the doorman...

Another day in paradise! The kids are home from school and the dogs have been in and out of the house with no kennel time since the begining of June and they are loving it. I know there will be a transition time when the kids return to school when they must return to their kennels during the day, but for now they are enjoying the freedom and luxury of having a doorman.
I came home today to the usual hustle of home life with the exception of it being "take out night" - the one day a week I take a break from cooking. The pups all greeted me with their usuall spunk as I walk through the house to set the take out meal on the counter and start thier dinner. Oli took his usual seat in the corner and quietly watches and Jezebel usually stands between my legs (this is tolerable until I have to walk)and the Fatboy lays under the dining room table until I call dinner. They watch me toss the mixing paddle into the sink and everyone runs to the kennels for dinner. Now it begins - Oli scratches to go out and Jezebel joins him, I stop what I'm doing and open the door. I return to what I was doing - 5 minutes later Oli scratches the door so I go and open it. He hangs around for a bit and then scratches to go out. I say, "not this time buddy!" so he waits for someone else to walk by and scratches the door - sucker! THey let him out and sure enough 5 minutes later he is scratching the door again. I announce to the kids not to let him do this or he will keep it up all night and then my husband (who's been on the phone with business all evening) walks by and opens the door for Oli! All the long both the Fatboy and Jezebel lay on the patio sunning themselves probably making doggie comments like, "Oli sure is training the doorman well!" or "look he's got them wrapped around his tail". Who knows what they might be thinking but I'm convinced my title will change to "doorman"!

Rain rain go away

The rain is starting to make the doggies a little restless. Fatboy our Rat Terrier is afraid of lightning so he's getting jumpy! Oli and Jezebel also are missing the activity of taking long walks. Oli mostly. He looks like an old coffee pot getting ready to percolate when he hasn't had some running time! You can see him sitting and the hyperness starts to build up. He switches from side to side and starts to pace the floor. Then he sits in front of me as I try to watch some TV. His hind quarters start to twitch, he trembles and then yodels at me... till he can't hold it together any more - he swats me and then headbutts me and paws me. He jumps to the floor and chases his tail, as my husband walks by he swipes his legs and softly bites his ankles. And then all mayhem breaks loose! They start the chase game, across the house to the bedroom where they circle each other about 3 times on the bed - effectvley removing the comforters, pillows and top sheets. Then bolt down the hall to the living room. The sofa, chair, table relay starts - jump over the back of the sofa, jump across to the loveseat, bolt across the padded coffee table to the leather recliner and then it starts all over again. We join in! We can hear them "laughing" and just having a great time! Now it's over, the bed is completley un-done, the sofa pillows are all over the living room floor, took about 20 minutes till they are exhausted and just plop on the doggie beds. wheeeyew! That was tons of fun!

And then there was Jezebel

Pam had called me in the past to do some evaluations with families and to share our Basenji experience with those interested in adopting so getting a call from her on a Friday was not out of the ordinary. This time it was. She was calling me to pick up a rescue that was on her way to her forever home! I was super happy to be a part of this! I called my husband and told him that we were picking up the dog on Saturday and she would be with us for a short time before going to her new home. I was not happy when I told him we had to drive across the state of Florida to get her! I didn’t mind – I kept thinking this dog was going to be waking up in the same home, eating regularly and loving on her very own human – how great can that be! So we got up early and made the drive. He mumbled and grumbled the whole way there until he saw her. What a precious little girl!

Jezebel came from Georgia and was surrendered by another rescue organization. She had been with them for a month or so only and before that was at a vet’s office where she was taken in by a Good Samaritan. I think she was hurt – not clear on the details. She climbed into the kennel in the back and slept on the ride home. She is and continues to be a charming Southern Bell! Sweet as can be and mellow by B standards. The adoption fell through and Pam asked if we could foster her for the time being. Well it had been 6 months before she called to tell me there could be a family for Jezebel. My husband fell back – there’s no way he was going to give her up! He just loves this little girl too much! So we have begun the process of adopting her ourselves.

She is wakes up happy, eats happy, walks on the lead like a lady and is just lovely to have. Our other basenji, Oli is the ruff and tumble sort – a sweetheart also without a cranky bone in his body and they make a great couple!

Remembering Bo

RockyBalboaBo Beauregard. He was our very first Basenji. Bo was with us for 7 years, got him from a college student who was moving out but admitted later that she could not handle the dog. He was a handful! No manners at all and just as aggressive as can be. When we picked him up he was kept locked up in a garage, no yard to run in and tearing up anything he found. Cute as a button but had a bad attitude. We took him home and found out first hand what a Basenji was all about. We had read web pages, books, magazines and all sorts of educational material before deciding on this bread but there is no lesson well learned like a real life experience. And Bo was an excellent teacher!

Our first clash was a wakeup call – literally, I was trying to wake him up to take him out before leaving to work. He was grumpy to say the least! Our next lesson was all about walking – or dragging. Bo had not been taught to walk on a leash properly but to pull a large male on rollerblades – great exercise but Bo had no distinction between rollerblades and just walking. We (unaware of this behavior) took him to South Beach (another lesson learned about Bs when they get freaked out!) and ignored all his bad behavior only rewarding his good acts – came back with a bag full of treats and bloody fingers. Lots of training began after that!

Just problem after problem from food aggression to escaping and when I had reached the point of giving up – I called Basenji Rescue and Transportation. I was ready to give up on him. I talked to someone on the phone for what must have been more than an hour. I was determined to get rid of the dog and this person was determined to make me understand the nature of the dog. I did. It took more than a year, but Bo and I finally had a relationship. This person’s patience in explaining behaviors and helping me understand completely confirmed my true belief in rescuing dogs and not buying from breeders. I accepted that he just did not really like me except when he was feeling under the weather. That’s when he would come snuggle up with me other than that he was the kids’ and my husband’s and I was Ok with it. He grew fond of his family and home (me included).

Our final day with Bo was dark. I came home to find him dead in the yard. I could not speak for a week thinking that something had gone terribly wrong and he could not find me to comfort him. although I was saddend by his death I took comfort in knowing that the puppy we took from a dark, hot garage had live a wonderful life with us for 7 years. I wish it could have been more. I made the decision then to help rescue organizations as well as fostering and with my husband’s encouragement we decided also to help with Basenjis. They are wonderful dogs if you learn from them and have great support. I wanted to be a part of that!

Oli the rescue

It's been over a year since we took Oli in. He came to us by way of another Basenji owner who's wife did not want a male (as they already had a female and did not want more than one). He was dropped off as "found wandering the streets" and I followed protocol and published ads in the local papers in both English and Spanish, on web sites and checked with local animal shelters. This went on for a few months with no owner to come forward. So he made us his family and we are happy he did. Oli is a peculiar B with good sense (for a B) and only a minimum amount of faults. He pulls on his leash and is leash aggressive towards unfamiliar dogs, however his sweet and friendly character out weighs any cons I could ever list. He doesn't like his kennel at all, but will tolerate it for a few minutes at a time and that's ok because he is not very house destructive at all.
He is completely different from our first Basenji, Bo who was your typical cranky, moody escape artist. Oli has escaped a couple of times, but we fixed the fence line and back out the door now and he has not even attempted to leave again! It's like I said, he seems to have sense! When you take in a rescue many times you have no idea what this animal has lived through before they come to your home. Oli never seemed like he had a bad past, but he sure seems like he appreciates his life of leisure now! He is sweet, hyper at times, non digger, non climber and likes other dogs (as long as he is not on a leash). He loves to run and play with other dogs at the dog park which I try to take him to at least 2 times a month.
Now we are in the process of adopting another B - a lovely little girl Jezebel. She has been with us since last October and she is just a darling addition to our family! More updates on her later!