Declan the Basenji

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  • elbrantE

    A while back, there was a very involved thread about a foster dog named "Declan". Many of us have wondered what ever happened, so I thought I would share this link and image. Either BRAT did not reclaim Declan, or they did and this is just a scam, or they didn't and this is still a scam. I have no way to know, but.... for the curious:
    Declan the Basenji "Fundraiser"
    0_1578976358747_declan.PNG

    elbrant.net

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  • D

    @elbrant For sure it’s a scam one way or another. I hope it’s just a pure scam and BRAT took the dogs back. My heart goes out to the poor dog, BRAT really does need to learn from the process and screen applicants thoroughly.

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  • KembeK

    Sad if it is a scam - unfortunate that they would take advantage of people that have a genuine concern and empathy for living creatures.

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  • MrsCastroM

    This dog is still LEGALLY owned by BRaT. She is a foster gone rogue.

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  • D

    @mrscastro That is what I thought. I know it’s hard for BRAT but she is IMO seriously not capable nor mentally stable enough to care for the dog. If you read her full post, she tells several confirmed lies and also confirms that she is experimenting on the dog again (if in fact she is not just pocketing the money).

    Either way the dog is in danger. Would be nice if someone from BRAT could give us an update from their end.

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  • elbrantE

    @dagodingo said in Declan the Basenji:

    Would be nice if someone from BRAT could give us an update

    I have asked... we'll see.

    elbrant.net

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  • MrsCastroM

    I cannot speak on behalf of BRaT. They are aware of her activities and working to correct the situation.

    We lost our Rascal (Rock'n Rowdy Rascal of Thor-Judy Brader's Thor Basenji litter 2005) to a combination of Cushings and cancer. It is a horribly painful way to die. He was sick for less than a year. I cannot imagine making an animal suffer so many years with such a diagnosis.

    I cannot follow "Her" as she has made public attacks against me for a favorable opinion I made regarding my personal experience with BRaT. I have her blocked on FaceBook for that reason. It would be helpful for the situation of someone could follow her to see recent photos of the dog. Could the dog even survive this long?

    I will not participate in any drama.

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  • elbrantE

    @mrscastro said in Declan the Basenji:

    I will not participate in any drama.

    That would make you a wise woman! And with her (Heather) it does seem to be all about the drama. My personal take involves many concerns which depend on things that I can not be certain of (at this moment).

    First, for the dog's welfare:

    • Is "Declan" alive, sick, and still in her care?
    • If so, is the dog getting proper medical care by a qualified and accredited Veteranarian?
    • Or, is Heather playing nursemaid and administering her own special drug cocktail(s)?

    Second, regarding Heather's online persona:

    • How much of this is true v. how much of this is "not quite accurate"?
    • Is Heather using this dog as a way to scam people out of money?
    • Is Heather "healthy" by society's standards, or is this a subconsious cry for help?

    So, yes.... I guess I am involved in that:

    1. I want to know that this dog is not in danger, and
    2. I want to be reasonably sure that Heather is "ok", and
    3. If she is running a scam, I want to make sure the right people know what she's up to.

    Disclaimer: I do not know Heather. But if I saw someone in my 'hometown' doing these things and acting this way, I'd be calling local "animal welfare" officials to have them check into it. If that's not the case, then I'll back off.

    elbrant.net

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  • elbrantE

    Official response: "Declan is no longer a BRAT dog".

    elbrant.net

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  • D

    @elbrant Kind of sucks as the poor dog (according to her own FB posts) is not being cared for and given proper veterinary care. It is one of those things that sucks but life can be very unfair.

    The only good that can come out of it, is if BRaT learn from it and improve their vetting process. Even that is sketchy because maybe the foster was fine when she originally took the dog. Reminds me of someone at work that I had to let go, someone asked me why I hired them and as I told them, they were fine when I hired them. A lot of mental illness around these days.

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  • elbrantE

    @dagodingo sad, but true

    elbrant.net

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    So what did you do with your Basenji today?

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    Sure! I have only worked with UKC at this point, but there are others out there. http://www.ukcdogs.com/WebSite.nsf/WebPages/DogWeightPull The dogs are divided into classes by weight. Placements are given out in each class, although they really don't matter much. The weight classes are 15 lbs apart for smaller dogs and 20 lb increments for big dogs. For example, the Basenjis bascially fall into the 30 lb class. (anything from 16 to 30.9 lbs) There are two ways to calculate placements, and it is decided ahead of time by the clubs holding the event. Format A is by most weight pulled. Format B is by most weight pulled per pound of body weight. It is calculated as a percentage. Most clubs do format A one day and format B the next. Also each day there is an overall winner for both the most weight pulled and most weight pulled per pound for all classes combined. I have seen everything from an American Bulldog to an Italian Greyhound win the most weight pulled per pound. :) All titles in UKC are earned by each dog's individual pulls compared to their own body weight. So classes and placements really don't matter, except for fun. There are 3 types of carts/surfaces to pull with, and each has their own point scale. Snow pulls are the hardest, so it doesn't take as much weight pulled in those events to earn the same amount of points as say a pull with a rail system. Wheeled cart pulls are inbetween, and the rail carts are the easiest to pull. Therefore it takes more weight to earn points. For example, a qualifying score for the first title takes only 3 times the body weight on snow to earn. It takes 7x the weight if its a wheel cart, and then 10x the weight on a rail track. Then to earn championship points after your first title, you only need to pull 5x body weight on snow, but you must pull 10x weight for wheels and 20x weight on rails! The more you pull the more points you earn, up to a max of 20 pts per event. Some titles can be earned by pulling on any of the surfaces. Other titles are for showing off versatility and the dog must earn so many points in two or all 3 of the surfaces to get them. There are 6 titles total you can earn. IWPA is another organization just for pulling, and they accept all breeds. I have never pulled with them however because the closest pulls in my region are over 3 hours away, up North. We have enough to do with everything else in the dog world that I don't need to make those kind of drives for this. lol http://www.iwpa.net/ APA is another one I just found this winter doing some googling. They have some pulls very close to home this summer so I am looking forward to going. I don't think they're a very big or influential organization to bother pulling with, at least for Basenjis, but will be nice to check it out. http://www.weightpull.com/ I think these are all the ones that will accept all breeds. Both IWPA and APA I think give points based on class placements, so I know they have some different formats than UKC. The only thing you really need is a custom fitted harness. It's an investment of about $50 -100 depending on who you go with and what you make of it. There are 3 harness makers that I've either used or know others personally who have, and they all do nice work and come highly recommended. Missy Kehler - The Working Canine (she's in the middle of redoing her site) http://www.theworkingcanine.com/ Harnesses By Carol http://harnessesbycarol.com/ CD Pits http://www.itsmysite.com/cdpits/ Most of these sites also have links to training articles, so search thoroughly. :) Our club got to host the "national" snow pull this year for UKC, organized by UNWPA. Here's a link to my little Roxie placing 4th in her class of 8, beating out 4 other Basenjis. This was only two weeks after her very first pulls. (And yes, there's more than one of us crazy Basenji people out here!) And two of those placing Staffies flew out from CA for this! lol Our lovely frigid below freezing MI temps were so welcoming. :) And check out our little racing friend BJ, the IG! http://www.unitednationalweightpullassociation.com/2009%20shows/UNWPAsnowpull2009.htm
  • G

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    gneigum, We posted the thread below and were wonderring if you would be interested in helping us. It would be greatly appreciated if you could! Let us know! Thanks for your consideration. We are currently in the process of looking to adopt a basenji. We have done all the research on the breed and learned about their traits and querks. We have come to the decision that a basenji is the right dog for us. However I suffer from allergies and want to make sure that I don't have an allergic reaction to our new family member. I have done alot of research and have read many artictles which say that basenji's are hypoallergetic. This is great, however no dog is truly allergy free. We have gone as far as visiting a breeder to meet their dogs and had a minor reaction. However I do not know if this was due to the fury little guy or the cigarette smoke in the residence (which I am also allergic to). Long story short, we are looking for a Saskatchewan Basenji owner that would be willing to let us meet their basenji to determine if allergies will be an issue. Please respond if you are a basenji owner in Saskatchewan or near by. Thanks!
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