Skip to content

Accidentally got a basenji

Member Introductions
  • Hey, everyone! I'm a graduate student living in North Carolina. My wife and I just got back to the US from Bénin, where we lived in a small town near the border with Nigeria. I was doing my Ph.D. dissertation research in cultural anthropology, and my wife was volunteering at an orphanage.

    While we were there, we adopted a puppy—my first dog. We named her Cosette (my wife was reading Les misérables at the time). The dogs where we lived are semi-pariahs; most of them have "owners," but they roam free most of the day and scavenge for food. At night, they return home for some table scraps, earning their keep by barking at strangers and scaring away would-be intruders.

    We knew we'd eventually want to bring our puppy home to the US, so we did our best to socialize her with people and other dogs. It wasn't easy, since both dogs and people in Bénin tend to assume that all dogs are potentially vicious. There's very little culture of keeping pets or companion animals. A lot of people found it strange that we'd want to go to the expense to take Cosette home with us, but it did earn her a name in Yorùbá, the local language: Bámidélé—"take me home" or "go home with me."

    Well, little did we know we'd adopted a basenji. One of the Americans living nearby pointed it out, so we researched the breed. Sure enough, Cosette matches the basenji's description both behaviorally and physically. (The two exceptions are that she's perhaps more elongated than the breed standard, and she can bark as well as yodel.)

    As a lifelong cat owner, I'm actually quite glad that my first dog is sort of kind of a cat. Cosette's now almost 10 months old, and she's adjusting well to her new life in the States. I'm eager to keep learning about these charming African beauties on the forums!

    Here's Cosette in Bénin: https://basenjiforums.com/topic/14143/cosette-bámidélé

    P.S. Can someone tell me how I can change my profile picture?

  • Great story! Beautiful name in Yoruba, too.
    We have 2 B's, sisters. Once you have one, your life will never be the same.
    There is a lot of resources on the web and on this forum lots of experienced B-owners (or, better, owned-by-B's) to help you raising Bami.
    Enjoy.!

    0_1460720680090_Lela&Binti.jpg

  • @Baba-Bamidele

    Welcome!

    On the photo.. beats me. I can get to it.

    Click on your B icon to go to your page.
    Click on the red dot thing, then EDIT

    Under the B on left, click then click change picture. But I get no option to upload a picture.
    B
    OPTIONS
    Change Picture

    (It also isn't letting me post a picture here.. keeps saying error, only allows blah blah blah. But it IS a jpeg file!)

  • (It also isn't letting me post a picture here.. keeps saying error, only allows blah blah blah. But it IS a jpeg file!)

    I ran into that problem. My file extension was .jpg which is a normal file extension for jpegs. However, it would not accept my picture until I changed the file extension to .jpeg after which it worked. (the file extensions are interchangable)

  • Thanks for the help! I still can't get it to work, though. I go to my page, red button on right, edit, then options under my big "B" icon, then change picture. This brings up a small window that only offers the option of "Default Icon." I never get anywhere that'll let me pick a new image. I am apparently able to change my cover photo (the big banner image), though. Is there maybe a restriction that only allows someone to change the picture after X number of posts?

  • Profile image uploading seems to be working now. I saw that folks brought this up with the forum administrators, so thanks!

Suggested Topics

  • Second basenji

    Member Introductions
    8
    0 Votes
    8 Posts
    5k Views
    Shaye's MomS
    @krunzer: Keep them separate in their own crates. The older one may not want to put up with puppy play in a big crate. When crated mine are always separate unless they are at the kennel, then they are in the same pen because Becca is not fond of the kennel. PS, basenjis don't like being woken up much, and one dog annoying another who wants to stay asleep might result in a fracas in a confined space; never a good thing.
  • Indonesian Basenji here

    Member Introductions
    13
    0 Votes
    13 Posts
    6k Views
    anukotorA
    i apologize, my wife has joined this forum too, and asking same question her user ID is queendom. today they have bath schedule, we will take some picture after bath. this is first bath since they arrived. the vet told not to bathing them for 3 days after they got anti scabies injection
  • New Basenji

    Member Introductions
    43
    0 Votes
    43 Posts
    14k Views
    KanangaK
    He's a hungry dog today. Gave him 1/2 cup in the morning and just a few minutes ago. He had no problem eating. I'm much more happy that he's eating now. He likes his bone as well. Not too much into the Kong yet. I just wish he didn't cry in his crate when I put him in there. Feel bad for him but I know it just takes adjusting. He is perfectly fine when I return home after he's been in there awhile. It's just the initial time. To be honest though, this transition went far better than I expected. I was prepared for the worst. This little guy has done very well.
  • Kaylee the Basenji

    Member Introductions
    17
    0 Votes
    17 Posts
    7k Views
    JasonWheelerJ
    Good lookin dog! I was lucky I got mine at the shelter two days before he would be put to sleep.
  • My Basenji?

    Member Introductions
    23
    0 Votes
    23 Posts
    9k Views
    scarlettsmommaS
    It was actually the vet tech wasn't the most brilliant thing on the planet… needless to say I found another vet the next week and they think she might have some bulldog in her... what a mix. I believe that she definitely could have some bulldog in her judging by the way she lays around the house.
  • Basenji on the Brain !

    Member Introductions
    7
    0 Votes
    7 Posts
    4k Views
    QuercusQ
    @cmd: Our 12yr old Ramsey is from one of Linda's Basenji's and a very sweet guy. Have you tried Hacker's Basenji's? Ann is an active and very responsible breeder and she's near Danville. I can't say enough good things about her. We've had 2 of her dogs and both have had great temperaments. She's friends with a lot of other breeders in the area as well. If she doesn't have any available you could also try Select Basenji's near Dayton. I think she was co-breeding last year. We have a Select and she's a great little dog – a ball of energy though! I too was looking for a Basenji last year at this time. We lost our 14 yr old also year to date and felt a puppy would help everyone move on. Sort of became a mission. Puppies can be hard to come by this late, but we did find several. Nope, Tracy's breeding didn't take this year…but I think she is planning one for spring :)