Free to the RIGHT Home

[JRinDC]

Odie is a handsome and healthy 3.5 y/o tri-color purebred Basenji male. He is currently being fostered in Washington, DC, but was surrendered by an owner who hated having to give up 'her baby' but could no longer take care of him properly and decided it was best for him to find a new home. I adore this boy, but since I already have three Basenjis of my own in a small condo, I cannot keep him myself and am hoping to find him a great new family.

Odie was an only dog, and would be OK as an only dog again, but he has really enjoyed the company of his foster siblings and is a very social and playful boy so the ideal home would be one seeking a second dog, preferably looking for a companion for a non-alpha resident female.

Odie is generally well-mannered, non-destructive, and house-broken. He enjoys attention and affection. He is a playful boy, but is happy to snuggle up with you to for attention and to sleep.

Odie was originally going to be placed by BRAT but on the day of this transport he bit the transporter (male) and myself (male) on the thumb. I learned afterwards that Odie was abused in the past by the former husband of his previous owner. Nonetheless, because he bit us both, BRAT cannot risk placing him through the rescue, so I agreed to help the owner find him a new home.

Odie has been with me for 6 weeks and has not bitten or presented any other aggressive behavior since that first day. I'm quite sure he reacted out of fear and stress having been taken from the only 'mom' he had ever known and then finding himself in the custody of strange men. Once he realized I was not going to hurt him, even after he bit me, he reverted to his usual sweet demeanor. Nonetheless, he was abused in the past, and as a result he needs to be handled with positive training techniques and non-physical correction, if necessary. He now understands that not all men wish to hurt him and is happy to approach and interact with both men and women, adults and children, as well as other dogs. However, if someone were to strike him or punish him in a hurtful, aggressive manner, it could undo all the trust he has learned. Therefore I will only place Odie with a home that understands how to handle a dog without abusive behavior.

If you think you can provide Odie a good home with lots of love and affection, please contact me at: jrinlogan@gmail.com. Though I have spent money to ensure Odie is up-to-date on all vetting, I am not seeking reimbursement and there will be no fee to adopt Odie. I am most concerned with finding him a great home, so I will vet any applicant as thoroughly as possible to ensure his new adopter is basenji-savvy and I will request the adopter to sign an agreement stating that if for any reason the placement doesn't work out that Odie will be returned to me.

[Ninabeana26]

What a handsome boy. I really would love to take him [hoping to add a second asap] but I don't think my mom would go for it & unfortunately I will be living with her until November.

I really hope he finds his forever home soon though!

[sharronhurlbut]

Good luck, please let us know how it goes.

[TuckerVA]

Damn, I wish I could take him because he's JUST LIKE my Tucker. Same deal pretty much all around, right down to Tucker biting me on our first day. LOL! I have the everlasting scar to prove it… Unfortunately, it sounds like he and Tucker would not get along since Tuck is definately an Alpha male himself and has identical issues from apparent past abuse. While I know how to care for these guys, I doubt they would get along.

Then there is the girlfriend who will move in in about 3 months with her 100lb Old English Sheepdog... Thank god they get along....for the most part.

[sharronhurlbut]

I have to warn you that IMO you need to charge a fee for this basenji.
$100 would weed out folks who will not work through issues the dog has.
A free dog is likely to be shown the front door and let run…"after all, he didn't cost us anything!" type of thinking.
Just my opinion.

[tanza]

@sharronhurlbut:

I have to warn you that IMO you need to charge a fee for this basenji.
$100 would weed out folks who will not work through issues the dog has.
A free dog is likely to be shown the front door and let run…"after all, he didn't cost us anything!" type of thinking.
Just my opinion.

I totally agree with you Sharron, you can't even go to a shelter without paying an adoption fee….

[superman]

I forwarded your post to my friend who owns a B/W female B named Lucy. She's interested in a second dog and she's a fantastic B owner, very gentle and responsible. Her name is Sarah. I hope she contacts you soon.

[agilebasenji]

If you don't feel right benefiting from a fee, I'd suggest a $100 donation to the Basenji Health fund, or your favorite local rescue in lieu of an adoption fee.

[BDawg]

I wish I could take him too!! We're right in your area. He is soooo cute and needs a second chance. I'm all about helping dogs get that second moment. Unfortunately we live in a small apt too right now and already have two B's- one male, one female. If you're ever interested in meeting up for play dates, please let me know! And keep us posted on little Odie. Love that name too! So cute!

[DiegosMom]

I wanted to chime in and say I met Odie and he was a sweetheart! As soon as I met him he wanted to play, let me pet him, and was coming up to me for attention.. I really hope he finds a great home.. he deserves a second chance!

[JRinDC]

Not to worry … Odie has found a great new home even without my charging an adoption fee. (I would never have allowed him to go to a home I didn't feel completely comfortable with, and Craigslist doesn't allow you to sell dogs). Luckily, a family in New Jersey contacted me. They previously had an older male and in January adopted a young female through BRAT. Their older male died of cancer a couple of months ago, and so they were looking for a new B as a companion for their girl. (Free was a good price for them, too, since they had just spent a lot of money on their boy who passed). Follow up reports from the new family suggest Odie is doing extremely well in his new home. It was very hard to let him go as I had become quite attached (and vice versa) in his 9 weeks with me, but I'm thrilled he's in a home where he can get more individual attention and affection.

[Eli_and_Me]

Congratulations on finding Odie a good home!

[sharronhurlbut]

Yea! good job!

[agilebasenji]

Wonderful news; give them this website so we can see more of him.