Is my rescue part Basenji?

[carlbick]

I just came upon this forum and figured I'd take a crack at trying to identify the breed of my rescue.
Her name is Connie. I adopted her 4 yrs ago from an organization that saves dogs from Dead Dog Beach in
Puerto Rico. She lives with me in my condo in Long Island. Connie is 31lbs and in good health.
We walk 3-4 miles a day in the complex and many times I'm stopped and asked what breed is she.
My Vet said he sees a lot of terrier in her.
Does anyone see any Basenji?
Thanks!!

[joan duszka]

Lovely brindle coat. How is that tail. Lovely girl regardless.

[can226cat]

Can you show her standing from the front and back?

[DonC]

She's cute. Looks like a Basenji. Yeah I see lots of Basenji. If you told me she was a Basenji I'd believe you.

However, looks can be VERY deceiving. I've seen "Basenjis" who aren't and I've seen Basenjis who aren't but are! Easy solution is to get a DNA test. The fee is modest, and of course it ultimately doesn't matter, but it's fun. Basenjis have a very distinctive DNA profile -- they share very little DNA with other breeds -- so I'd imagine the test would be quite accurate.

[Dagodingo]

@carlbick Basenjis are known as Congo terriers in Africa I believe. They are tenacious like terriers, so your vet could be part correct.

Need better pictures, standing, sitting, side view etc, but I would say at least part basenji, maybe even full basenji.The only thing that looked maybe a bit different is the front of her mouth but that might just be the picture.

[Izzy-Bella]

I see Basenji, for sure. But I am a very biased person, with a 3/4 Basenji, based on DNA testing; but one who the nay-sayers on this site would no doubt probably poo poo results if they they just looked at her photos.
Nevertheless, that is a really adorable dog: super duper cute. The ears are wonderfully delightful, maybe not so much Basenji-like, but so much else is Basenji. Do the testing!

[RugosaB]

Connie is part basenji. She is more basenji than my first pet, who had the AKC papers that proved she was a basenji!

[Zande]

Especially the side view of Connie's head, as she is curled up just like Basenjis do - suggests to me there is a heavy dose of Basenji in there - Apart from the size and the set of her ears, Connie has a better 'basenji head' than I have seen on many ! A standing side view would help too.

Basenjis were called Congo Terriers when they first appeared in the UK - not sure if it was because of their tenacity or because of where they arrived from though.

There certainly have been brindles bred in Puerto Rico - from a wide variety of US lines, and then close-bred.

You are both lucky. You have a beautiful dog and Connie has a wonderful home !

[carlbick]

@zande Thank You for the kind words and good information.

[Zande]

I am fascinated. Do tell us more about Dead Dog Beach. Is that the name of the shelter or a place where dumped dogs end up ?

We recently identified the provenance of a Basenji in Puerto Rico. He is now in the on line database and being health checked

Maybe you should get together with his owner
Post me to my email address- to be found in the websites listed in my signature block

[NancySS]

Thank you for rescuing Connie. She is beautiful and she looks like a Basenji, but as others have said, looks CAN be deceiving. If you had just said she was a Basenji, I would not have doubted you. At any rate, enjoy all the love and fun you both have in your futures.

[carlbick]

@zande Hello Again...There is an organization in New York called the SATO Project.
It is a rescue organization whose sole purpose is to save abandoned and stray dogs that
inhabit many of beaches in Puerto Rico. I don't know the location per se but Dead Dog beach is
the main area that SATO concentrates on most of their rescues.
They have flights to Puerto Rico regularly and bring back plane loads of dogs to the USA.
As I understand it, once back in the states, the dogs are given to various rescue organizations throughout New York and Long Island.
Connie came to me via ARF ( ANIMAL RESCUE FOUNDATION) in Southampton again through SATO.
Here is a link to SATO: https://www.thesatoproject.org
Oh and by the way..All the pups are VET checked, given shots and certified health before coming to the states.

[Zande]

@carlbick Ah, so you and Connie are not in Puerto Rico - for some reason I assumed you were. It's great that such organisations exist.

The health tests I was referring to are those for Fanconi and PRA which Basenjis do need their DNA checking for and which are additional to the normal health checks which would be expected from such a responsible organisation. They are equally essential in the case of Basenjis.

Which raises an interesting point - should they be done on dogs which are proven to have at least a mix of Basenji in their ancestry ? Fanconi, I would think possibly but not sure about PRA (progressive retinal atrophy).

In view of the similarity to a human's of the configuration of a Basenji's kidneys (the reason they were the subject years ago of so much research by Jackson Laboratories at Bar Harbor, Maine) I wonder if this 'difference' in Basenji kidneys is passed on in a mix ?