:( Sad circumstances…I must give my Nikita up...


  • Not to come off harsh, but your post in july about your new girl Nikita is quoted below - when you were talking about breeding her before you found out she was from a BYB and said that you would try to find a pedigreed puppy to start with instead. Sorry, but something doesn't add up about having to give her up because you lost your job (how do you do that when you are self-employed) and have plenty of savings. I know…none of my business, but you were the one that posted this...

    @Anubis's:

    I have a good savings already set aside for any emergency…whether it be pet or myself. I am also self employed so I am home all the time 🙂 So should I have to be around to care for a pup or mom or both I can be. My vet is always on call and I can call him any time of day as well as my sister who is right down the road from me. I appreciate all the info 🙂

    I also agree with Chelsie that maybe you need to slow down on adding/switching dogs. You have the puppies from the beagle/basenji litter that you are responsible for for their entire lives. You have done a good job of taking them back when they have needed to be re-homed, but maybe slow down a bit until you are more settled.


  • I also agree with Chelsie and Renaultf1….. something doesn't add up. Hopefully BRAT can take this bitch, get her spayed and placed. Maybe too you can use the clinic and get the boy neutered...... no reason to have an intact male, especially if your life is in a bit of a mess....


  • Something doesnt add up? Explain what it is you're talking about. Im not a bad dog owner or any of that. And I dont appreciate the criticism. If I didnt give a **** about my dogs I wouldn't have contacted BRAT at all.

    The self employed part is the Affiliate Program im using to generate my sales which = money closed down. I drive traffic to other sites to earn commissions. The program which handles our payments and sales stats closed. THATS how you lose a job when you're self employed.


  • You just go through dogs, that's all- no ones saying your a bad dog owner persay…but it's not fair on the dogs you make a commitment on to have to go through more than one family because you don't keep them. Which is why I say you may have good intentions but perhaps you don't look far enough into yours and theirs futures to make the right decision from the start rather than after you say you'll keep them. It's hard for some of us to congratulate you when you take in a dog the same way it's hard to feel bad or be surprised when your posting that you need to find a home for it later. It just seems to me (or some) that its a fleeting phase.


  • To be fair, sh*t does happen, and often it comes in streaks. I have had my share of bad luck this past year, so I can empathize and perhaps understand how circumstances can result in some unhappy but necessary choices. Hopefully things will turn around and improve for the OP. Meantime, I have not walked a mile in her moccasins…...


  • Yes, **** happens… to all of us.. however... when she got this intact bitch... her first thoughts were to breed... both the boy that she has and the bitch are from BYBreders. They are not quality dogs. Both/all should be spayed/nuetered and not be considered for breeding. Not sure of the reason that she took this bitch in... would have been better to foster her and BRAT would have paid to spay her and then assist to place her...


  • @tanza:

    Yes, **** happens… to all of us.. however... when she got this intact bitch... her first thoughts were to breed... both the boy that she has and the bitch are from BYBreders. They are not quality dogs. Both/all should be spayed/nuetered and not be considered for breeding. Not sure of the reason that she took this bitch in... would have been better to foster her and BRAT would have paid to spay her and then assist to place her...

    And in her defence, I think she listened to the advice given on this forum and did NOT breed the bitch. Perhaps this or that would have been a better scenario, but all that is water under the bridge so to speak and all we can do is go forward. Hopefully things will turn around for the OP (and others too, if needed) and Nikita will find a great home and not be bounced around any more. In the mean time, I think I will count my own blessings and be grateful. It would be easy for things to be different in each of our lives.


  • I saw a Fb post from one of my friends in OKC that her son picked up a female from Craigs list last night, hoping it is Nikita and that she gets her spayed ASAP. Dont trust that ooops litters won't happen with this poor dog.


  • Agile basenji- I agree she's listened to forum members advice and has been open about hearing it…however it is still better not to make the mistake (of getting Yet another one) than it is to have to listen and fix the mistake..these are lives we're talking about. Getting a dog is a serious contemplation. I've wanted a second since I got Oakley which that in itself took three years, I won't get a second one because at this point in my life I would have too much to be responsible for if bad things happened. There's more to having a dog than just making a decision to buy or get one. I've been in "those shoes" of having one bad thing happen after another, job loss and then another crapshoot of issues..but I was always secure enough with what I had I knew I could keep and care for through the tough times, and that was paramount in my decision to get a dog. I think shes doing the right thing but it's also my opinion she should stop getting dogs until she's sure she will have a dog for its life.


  • No response so wonder if it is the dog on Craigs list. Hope you can get the FB friend to get her son's dog spayed whether it is her or not.

  • First Basenji's

    lisastewart, love your website and the stories of Rainbow Bridge:)


  • It doesn't matter whatever the circumstances are/where. Here's the issue, Nikita needs a new home! Stop bickering and help her find one! People make mistakes, information gets misinterupted. We're only human. She obviously cares about her otherwise she would have just put her up on craigslist for free. I would say if you can't find her a home soon, you should surrender her to BRAT as I know she would be in good hands and SAFE. Good luck with getting yourself back on your feet. Last year I lost my job and had to move back home where my parents didn't want Congo. Thankfully he was able to stay with a friend until I was able to convince them to let him stay with us. (a month later)


  • Nikita is living at a basenji savy home in OK with two neutered/sPayed Senjis and is gettin spayed. I'm told she is quite the lap dog and enjoying her new home


  • @lisastewart:

    Nikita is living at a basenji savy home in OK with two neutered/sPayed Senjis and is gettin spayed. I'm told she is quite the lap dog and enjoying her new home

    That's wonderful news! thank you so much for giving us an update.


  • Oh, and maybe invite the owners to stop by and post some new pics? Hopefully this will be the end of this pup changing homes.


  • Thanks for the update, glad she is safe and getting spayed! Everyone comes on hard times, hopefully life lessons have been learned, not to bite off too much!

  • First Basenji's

    Yes, thanks for the update and hope this forever home is one.


  • This is wonderful news!

    Jennifer


  • Yes, the internet is a public place and if you post something, be ready to be pounded by criticism. And while this is a great forum for basenji LOVERS… focus on lovers, I would like to make a couple of comments:

    1. I'm apparently old, as the original OP is young enough to be my daughter. When I was her age, I was in college and couldn't care less about dogs. If you wanted one, then you'd go to the pound.

    2. I know that she's trying to think about the best place for these dogs. And when we are in our early 20's, we are all dreamers, are we not? So we think about being firefighters, teachers, nurses, breeders, veterinarians... and as we grow older and hopes are eroded by reality, we recognize the difference between what we THINK we could do, and the reality of what we CAN do. This is one of Life's hard lessons, to be sure.

    3. If I loved my dogs (which, at age 20+ I've already said I wasn't smart enough to recognize as a passion), and if I knew my circumstances meant that I needed to make changes, I would HOPE that I could reach out to people who understood the breed for help... and I would hope that these people would focus on the situation and not on ME, so that at the end of the day, the dogs would be cared for. I would hope that my previous optimistic posts wouldn't be thrown at me...in quotations... and that people that love the breed wouldn't kick me out of the "club" because I had overstepped my personal limits and I now I asked for help. I would hope that people that were older (and wiser than me) would give me a break and let me learn from my mistakes and help others learn from them too.

    Being 20 something is tough... we are trying to make our way in life as we are still growing up ourselves. Perhaps it's not an ideal time to pursue dog breeding, but I hope that some of you understand that at this age, we are all gaining wisdom through life lessons.

    And while she's perhaps made some "mistakes" in her business decisions for dog breeding... this young lady is NOT a Backyard breeder with over 100 dogs in an unlicensed environment, nor is she selling these dogs as "Rare barkless hypoallergenic dogs" to the unsuspecting internet buyer. She came here first for help and guidance... so why can't we help her without judging her?

    As long as we all remember that people make mistakes, and dogs somehow persevere through our ignorance... the dogs will be okay.


  • Patty M-
    You are an eloquent writer with a gentle soul. I hope we haven't lost our OP.

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