• The ever-so-handsome "Charlie" Am CH Khani's Two Anda Half Men is now available to a loving companion or breeder home.

    Charlie was pre-lim hip tested (Good) last summer and will be re-certified soon. He has clear/normal CERFd eyes as an 8 wk old puppy and again at 1.5 years of age.
    He is tested as Probably Fanconi Carrier.
    He is a "Benny" grandson.
    Charlie has a 3-pt major towards his AKC Grand Championship.
    He could be made available to an overseas home (he has already been titered) that would like to incorporate him into their breeding program.

    Charlie is a talker… as my son says "what a wuss.. he is all bark and no bite."
    He LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVES children, maybe as much as he loves Mike-N-Ikes, Twizzlers, and Lemonheads!

    Charlie loves to rush out the front door and then when he is told he is a bad bad bad boy he comes running bag wagging his tail with his ears in rose position to apologize profusely.
    He is a real love bug. He would make a fabulous companion with a girl Basenji or other spayed female dog. He does not mix with other boys.

    Charlie has one leg towards his JC.. we are hoping to get another next month... but there always seems to be a girl in heat around and his hormones seem to override the desire to chase a stupid EMPTY plastic bag!

    Serious inquiries to Kathy at bennyburnerbono at aol dot com. Charlie can also be seen on our website.


  • What a great looking boy! Hope he finds a "happily ever after" home.


  • There is a gal who applied to BRAT but all the listed dogs have a "no kids". I will certainly give her the link. Handsome boy indeed!


  • He is gorgeous indeed! MacPack: notice he has one brown leg like Kirby - they look a lot alike!


  • I know I will get a lot of heat for this, but as a person who got a Basenji as a pet, and I am not a breeder, I just don't get getting rid of Basenjis that are no longer show-worthy or good as a sire. Is it that these folks see these dogs as commodities? I cannot imagine giving a dog away that has made a home with me because it no longer suits my personal purposes. If I am off base here, I am willing to listen to explanations. But I see this a lot on these boards and I don't understand how anyone can just pass a beloved dog along to someone else b/c it has fulfilled it's purpose and one is no longer in need of this dog . I thought that when one gets a dog, one is committed to that animal for it's whole life. Am I missing something here? Do we not view these animals as sentient beings? Are they just show pieces for our own vanity? Really, I would love someone to explain this to me. it breaks my heart to think that we treat these animals as objects to be discarded when they are no longer useful to us. I would love to hear a rational argument to justify this.
    this to me. I do not get it.


  • Show breeders can only keep a certain amount of dogs. IMO, and I do rescue, these dogs are wonderful "starter" dogs for first time basenji owners. They are usually very well rounded and have few "issues". They can go into homes where there are small kids, and often rescue dogs just can't handle that. Re the breeders rehoming them. Well, I think they assume that every dog is better off with one family of their own, instead of in a group of b's. not that they aren't cared for . I don't know if I explained it correctly, but that is what I hear from breeders I speak to.


  • There are many reasons a breeder may place a young adult. It is not because they are throwing them away. If you read Kathy's post, though Charlie is finished with Championship she has shown him since and earned Grand Champion points. So it isn't even because he is necessarily done with a show career or even as a stud dog.

    One reason a breeder may place an adult dog is because their house is full and the dog isn't thriving as one of many. It would be selfish to keep a dog, even a spectacular show dog if the dog is unhappy with its situation. Some dogs love being a member of a "pack" of dogs and don't mind sharing the attention of their humans, others really want to be center of attention and affection of their family. For the dog's happiness the breeder may place the dog where it will get the attention it deserves.

    The breeder's house may be full and though the dog may have no problem being one of many, it isn't a good fit for their breeding program. By placing the dog, the dog gets to be the apple of the eye of its new owner and the breeder no longer has as full a house.

    Another reason is that the dog may just not fit in the household. Even if the breeder wanted to keep the dog it may be causing dischord in the household. These dogs are not usually problems in other homes but in a multi-dog household there are many dynamic elements in careful balance that make things works. Some dogs seem to rock that balance no matter what they do.


  • Charlie is a love. And I love him dearly.
    But, I have 2 middle school aged children and I have beeni n school FT for 3 years.
    I have 6 dogs and for me, it is 3 too many. I have 2 girls leaving this fall.
    Placing Charlie will make it possible for me to continue my breeding program and allow me to place puppies in pet homes.
    Where would you suspect well-bred pets come from?? Good breeders.
    I place 90% of my puppies/adults in homes with children.

    There is NOTHING wrong with Charlie.
    He sired two nice litters.
    He is a lovebug, talks, kisses, and comes when you call him a good portion of the time.
    He has some Grand Champion points.
    He would be a valuable asset to any breeding program.
    I just can't keep lots of dogs.
    I do NOT have a kennel.
    My dogs are loose in the house or in a crate when I am at school.
    Having too many dogs means that someone may have to be crated additional hours. Not fair to them or me.

    These are FAMILY DOGS and companions.
    I would never put one of my dogs in a home where it got less attention than in my home. That would be silly.
    But, putting them in a home where they are one of 2 dogs makes it so they are loose all the time, sleep in bed, and get to be the epicenter of someone else's life.
    What is better than that???


  • He is georgeous!

    If we only had one male or no puppie girl coming, we would give him a home for sure!
    Three is also our max. at our current home!


  • Kathy, he's beautiful…I hope you find a forever home for him soon. If we were still looking, I'd jump on this opportunity for a wonderful Basenji!


  • I have a friend who bred and showed for years, she was always trying to improve her line, and there was no way she could have kept all of her show dogs and kept them happy. There were a couple that she kept forever, but most went to good forever there to be spoiled homes.


  • @bewler:

    Am I missing something here? Do we not view these animals as sentient beings? Are they just show pieces for our own vanity? Really, I would love someone to explain this to me. it breaks my heart to think that we treat these animals as objects to be discarded when they are no longer useful to us. I would love to hear a rational argument to justify this.
    this to me. I do not get it.

    Did you miss something? Oh, the boat. Heck, forget the boat, you didn't even make it to the dock.

    First, the word discarded is unreal. She isn't dumping the dog in a shelter or on the street, she is looking for a good home.

    Second, as an active rescue/rehab person, wow, get over it already. I have had people take PRECISELY the same attitude with ME over placing RESCUES!! Oh, how can I possibly find it a home, don't I want to keep it? What is wrong with me that … blah blah blah.

    Here is a truth. Rarely is there only one home that is great or even perfect for a dog. If you do rescue, if you breed, even if you find you have acquired more dogs than you can fairly give time to or got one that truly does not fit your household, the UNSELFISH act is to find it a great home where it CAN fit in or get what it needs. I see more dogs suffer from people who WON'T rehome but neglect than any breeder on earth who places dogs to make room for the next generation.

    Third... sigh. Breeders are NOT just pet owners. They are the guardian of developing and improving the breed. One of the hardest parts of that duty involves creating puppies and letting them go. You think you quit loving a dog because you place it? I got several mother's day or holiday cards from the families of my puppies til the dogs died. A good breeder stays in contact with the adopter and a good breeder cares about the continued life of that dog. BUT, unless you are advocating the kennels of old where a breeder might have 20 or more dogs in kennels and never let anything but puppies leave... oh wait, we still have those. They are called PUPPYMILLS. Most breeders must limit the number of dogs in their home to a fair number for both the humans and dogs. To suggest a breeder should essentially stop breeding rather than place adults that no longer fit their breeding program, or to make room for a next generation, is to suggest that the breed simply isn't worth continuing. It is a necessary process that all responsible breeders face. In fact, honestly.... I am far more critical of those that hold onto more dogs than they can fairly treat like other "pet" homes.

    At one point here I had 4 Rottweilers, a rescue toy poodle, a chow/coyotee and still had room for rotating one to 2 rescues. But I had my daughter home and husband here a lot to help provide attention/playtime/love/training. Now with her in college and my husband generally disabled (until he sucks it up and gets hip surgery but let's not go there), I find just the 2 basenjis are about enough.

    However, you find me a breeder who is just discarding a dog in their program, and I'll help you picket them. We see those. We see them in shelters, we see them in rescue when a breeder refuses to stand behind their dogs and take them back. But I am pretty darn sure you won't find that true of ANY of the breeders who regularly post here.


  • Okay - fair enough. Those arguments make sense and I truly didn't mean to offend anyone. This part of the dog world is outside my purview and I appreciate the patient explanations.


  • Here is one more sigh view. I had one older puppy that I wanted to keep, unfortunately, he needed more time and one on one than I had to give him. The others fit well into my multiple dog household. Frankie went to a great home with some great people that still continue to work with him for what's best for him.

    Sometimes it's better to let a dog go to a good home than keep him and show him. When we 'retire' show dogs it doesn't mean we don't want to keep them, it sometimes means that it may be in the dogs' best interest to place them in a loving home where they will be spoiled. Hope this helps explain a little bit about what we, as breeders, want for our dogs we place.


  • @bewler:

    I know I will get a lot of heat for this, [snip] I thought that when one gets a dog, one is committed to that animal for it's whole life. Am I missing something here? Do we not view these animals as sentient beings? Are they just show pieces for our own vanity? Really, I would love someone to explain this to me. it breaks my heart to think that we treat these animals as objects to be discarded when they are no longer useful to us. I would love to hear a rational argument to justify this.
    this to me. I do not get it.

    Well, I think maybe you got a little heat, but not too much. I know where you are coming from. It's been drilled into your head that you get a pet for life and therefore, if you rehome your pet, you've failed the pet and failed as a pet-owner. But I also think that it is because these dogs are sentient beings that they are (sometimes) rehomed. Kathy isn't just giving Charlie away to the first person who asks for him. She will research the home to make sure that Charlie is going to a better home than she can provide for him.

    I've also seen rehomes where the resident dog/s are not accepting of the new dog/puppy, especially as a new pupppy reaches maturity. And so the second dog is rehomed for the sake of the first dog. Patricia McConnell does a wonderful job of recounting this sort of thing in her blog (http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/update-on-hope). She eventually does rehome Hope because of how relapsed Willy's behavior becomes. Sad, but probably the best option for both dogs in that case. It would have been a sad life for Willy being afraid of his housemate every hour of every day.

    However, I do think in today's society that people are too quick to give up their pets for a list of reasons (new baby, moving, new house, new carpet, new boy/girlfriend, etc). But please don't loose sight of the fact that sometimes rehoming is done with a loving heart and in the best interest of the animal. I hope some of that helps.


  • @Agilebasenji - Yup, you're right - that's pretty much how I have felt, and I never saw it from a good breeder's perspective. I know that there are valid reasons for re-homing a dog. I guess I just saw this as "shuttling" dogs around without thinking about what the folks who really care about Basenji's are doing by trying to breed sound and healthy dogs, and that sometimes means making way for dogs that can make that happen. I should probably have asked about it before spouting off my knee jerk reaction. I apologize to Kathy - I don't even know her and made unfair assumptions about how she feels about her animals. And I really am grateful that folks took the time to enlighten me - I never thought about the other side of the scenario. So, thanks. I didn't get as much heat as I expected and probably less than I deserved. I appreciate people being civil.


  • I think that most of the breeders here took this as a chance to do some education into insights of a breeder. So no worries…..


  • @agilebasenji:

    Well, I think maybe you got a little heat, but not too much. I know where you are coming from. It's been drilled into your head that you get a pet for life and therefore, if you rehome your pet, you've failed the pet and failed as a pet-owner. But I also think that it is because these dogs are sentient beings that they are (sometimes) rehomed. Kathy isn't just giving Charlie away to the first person who asks for him. She will research the home to make sure that Charlie is going to a better home than she can provide for him.

    I've also seen rehomes where the resident dog/s are not accepting of the new dog/puppy, especially as a new pupppy reaches maturity. And so the second dog is rehomed for the sake of the first dog. Patricia McConnell does a wonderful job of recounting this sort of thing in her blog (http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/update-on-hope). She eventually does rehome Hope because of how relapsed Willy's behavior becomes. Sad, but probably the best option for both dogs in that case. It would have been a sad life for Willy being afraid of his housemate every hour of every day.

    However, I do think in today's society that people are too quick to give up their pets for a list of reasons (new baby, moving, new house, new carpet, new boy/girlfriend, etc). But please don't loose sight of the fact that sometimes rehoming is done with a loving heart and in the best interest of the animal. I hope some of that helps.

    This is a perfect post! I completely agree 🙂

  • First Basenji's

    Charlie is so handsome and sounds like a love. I hope you find a great home for him.
    If I didn't have Cody, I'd be tempted 🙂


  • Kathy how can someone contact you about him?

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