hello everyone,
I found out that my Mom has been talking to all of you for almost a year now, and that she has also recently been posting pictures of me, so I guess I don't have to give you much of my history and how I got to my new home, which I am loving.
Mom is being so good to me, and she is very dilligent with walking me and giving me good exercise. She says, "a tired basenji is a good basenji". But hey! We are good whether we are tired or not. That's why you all love the basenjis you have - even if we rip up or destroy something. So far, the only things I have destroyed here that Mom cared about is a shoe. Well, she left it on the ground, so I took it as being fair game. How am I supposed to know the difference between a toy and her shoe? Oh well, those shoes were kind of out of style - I did her a favour!
We took a long walk yesterday at Ladner Harbour Park. The first thing my Chow dog cousin Beatrice did was take a run at some bunnies. My Aunty Rose, my Mom's sister, said that Beatrice loves bunnies and squirrels. I saw both, but decided to stay close to my Mom, because it is such a big world out there from the perspective of a 16 week young Basenji boy! My Uncle Lyle walked me too. He is a very tall human so I felt very safe with him.
For most of the walk, I had my nose pointed at the ground. I sniffed and could tell that lots of dogs go there. Some happy, some sad, some old and some young. I was shaking a little, and my Mom knew it was because I was a bit apprehensive. So whenever we encountered another dog, my Mom helped with the 'meet and greet'. One dog I didn't like, so I made a low growl sound. My Mom heard it right away and gave me a small correction on my leash. I learned that it is much better to meet a dog I don't like on a calmer level. It actually worked better and I felt kind of proud of myself.
The ground was frozen in some areas and a bit mushy in others. We walked for about an hour. Even thought I tried to stay out of the mucky areas, my cute white feet got a bit dirty. I liked walking on the pier, because it was much tidier there.
Besides encountering new dogs, I was also introduced to motorized wireless toy trucks. The humans running them seemed to enjoy them so much. Me, not so much, because I think I was just trying to take in the big world and get used to it.
Then we left the park and headed home in my Mom's car, where she puts me on the back seat in a crate. I was pretty tired with the exercise and mental stimulation, and I promptly fell asleep on the ride back home. Once we were at home, Mom washed my feet and then I licked them dry, so it worked out okay in the end. She verified that they were clean by giving them a 'sniff test'. I heard her say that they smelled like corn chips again, so I guess that means I passed the test. I wonder why all of you like the smell of our feet so much. Doesn't that make all of you a little…. odd?
Later that evening, Mom took me outside for my end of the day bathroom break. As many of you know, I have to share my new home with two cats. I find them fine - I can tell they are old, so I don't bother them at all. But when we walked out of the back door we saw another cat! I guess they can tell that my parents' house has good vibes because this cat was sitting on one of their backyard lounge chairs. Gee, I feel outnumbered by cats! And this cat was way bigger than those in my family, and it was more aggressive too. Of course, I had to taunt it. It didn't mind at all. So I started zooming around the yard. After about fifteen minutes of this I heard my Mom grumble something about 'us being outside in the freezing cold to do business, not to play'. But I am a young Basenji, so there is an understanding I think you humans have about us being a little crazy. I used that to my full advantage until Mom stopped the playing and put on my leash. That told me that I had to pay attention. I finally gave in, or should I say my bladder gave out! So that's how I get to go back into my warm house. I must remember that.
Today is a new day filled with more exciting adventures. I hope that you and all of your basenjis feel the same way!
