So sorry for the loss of your family member and also that you had the extra stress of finding an alternative vet. The photos are a lovely tribute and my favourite is the one of her in the swim suit too!
Remembering Jengo...
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I really appreciate everyone's thoughts and for allowing me to share Jengo with you. It means a lot. The pillow deconstruction was funny. We were laughing so hard when we found that mess. We played with him in the mess for awhile afterwards. He never did that again though.
We're not sure how old he was... exactly. We got him from a Basenji rescue after he'd spent weeks in an Irvine, CA animal shelter recovering from some vicious bite wounds. There was conjecture that he might have been a bait dog for dog fighting. Someone had left him tied to the shelter gate one morning with bloody open gashes. After weeks of recovery the shelter labeled him "Unadoptable", but reached out to Karen at Medfly. Karen canceled our appointment to meet with her to go fetch Jengo, who was named Lester by the shelter. However, we met later that same day and fell in love with Jengo. Had to have him. The shelter estimated his age at the time to be about 4. As soon as we got him home I took him to our vet for a once over. He estimated Jengo's age closer to 6. So, he must have been between 12 and 14 when he died. I get that that's a good long life for any dog, but only 8 years for us. Not nearly long enough.
Anyway, back to happier thoughts... Here's another favorite picture. Jengo LOVED long walks, but he hated being cold. This was one drizzly winter day...
Shortly after we first brought him home, my son and I learned that Basenjis could sing, or yodel. We'd watched some youtube videos. We wondered if ours might. My son was taking piano lessons at the time, so we gave it a shot. So glad I made this video...
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Both a touching story and video. Yes he definitely liked to sing! Also amazing at how easily and daintily he jumped on the window ledge. Basenjis have a good idea of where their feet are. I tell people that they never break anything in the house ... unless they intend to.
You gave him a great home. Yes 8 years was short but seems like it was a rewarding 8 years for him and for you. No doubt he loved it. He was so lucky to have found you and your family.
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My basenji George passed away at 20 years old in Feb 2018. I still look at the forums just to see basenji pictures so Thank you for the wonderful pictures. I look back now after 2 and a half years of losing "Curious George" and think how lucky I was to have him. We found him- tailed chopped off but he looked alot like Jengo...George had more white on his face although.
you will always remember those memories with Jengo - like someone said , a tired basenji is a good basenji - that definitely was George. Brings a smile to my face.
So sorry for your loss.......another basenji will not replace George or your Jengo. Cherish those memories. I have other rescue animals but no one stole my heart like my Curious George. -
@donc said in Remembering Jengo...:
Both a touching story and video. Yes he definitely liked to sing! Also amazing at how easily and daintily he jumped on the window ledge. Basenjis have a good idea of where their feet are. I tell people that they never break anything in the house ... unless they intend to.
Funny story. One day we were having family over later for dinner. I'm thinking it must have been Thanksgiving because we were using the formal dining room and had the table extended to it's full length. It was fully set with table cloth and placemats; diner, bread and salad plates; napkins and flatware; water and wine glasses; water and wine decanters; and candles, etc. We're in the kitchen transferring food to serving plates to carry in, look through the doorway into the dining room and stop... dead in our tracks. It was another deep inhale chin drop basenji moment. we'd left a chair pulled out and Jengo had used it to climb up onto the table to see what all the mayhem was about. There he was standing in the middle of a crowded fully set formal dining table gently meandering his way through while inspecting everything. I started laughing. It's something I just love about basenjis. They are incredibly elegant, and Jengo was truly gentle. But, he had this farel side to him. He just did what he wanted. We got so much entertainment from him.
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What wonderful pictures of dear Jengo. Thanks for sharing them!
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@jengosmonkey
That is a funny Thanksgiving story - they don’t want to MISS OUT on anything! You have to have a good sense of humor to own a BASENJI! -
Hope I'm not overwhelming you folks. I'm working on putting together an album and a shadow box for Jengo and I keep running across more memories...
This is a picture of Jengo sitting AT the table inside the Cypress Inn in Carmel, CA. Doris Day owned the Inn and loved dogs, so her policy was... bring 'em in the Inn. Who knew? So we get seated for lunch on day and put Jengo on the floor next to me. He balked and jumped right up onto the chair next to me just as the waiter walked by. I apologized profusely while reaching to put him back on the floor. Waiter said "No, leave him. He's welcome to sit at the table." OMG!
So... there he sat. We ordered him a hamburger sans lettuce, cheese, tomato and bun...
This is the day the rescue returned from the animal shelter with Jengo and the day we chose chose each other. We headed home with him the following morning...
Seems he settled in with us...
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Hi ! You’re definitely NOT overwhelming me w/ photos and stories! I just love them - all the stories and photos bring a smile to my face. Keep them coming - it keeps Jengo’s memory alive! He looks and acts just like my Kembe.
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Ok, a few more... I refer to us as Jengo's Monkeys because we were the opposable thumbs he was missing, but he figured that out fast and began our training immediately. "Hey monkey, open the door." "Hey monkey, take me for a walk." "Hey monkey, get me a snack." Lesson one happened on our way home with him in the RV. Karen and Chuck had driven him North to their home the previous day and said he traveled well in the crate. Perfect. He had something different in mind during our drive home. He whined and cried almost immediately, then he peed all over the inside of the crate and paced through it. No problem. Slight accident. We pulled over, pulled him out, cleaned him and the crate, replaced the newspaper, then put him back in and hit the road again. Not long after... he did it again. Then again. And again. We finally got the message and just let him hang with us. Whining and peeing stopped. This is my son sitting with Jengo at the crate during the the ride home...
When we arrived home I carried him to the backyard to do his thing. He ran around a bit exploring the new space as we watched. Then he walked over to a chair, jumped in it and curled up in a ball. It's almost as if he knew he was in his place... outside. Wait, what? You can't sleep out here. He slept in the crate in the house for that first night because boy did he stink! The next morning we took him to the dog wash. Several scrubbings late he smelled so much better. Still took almost a year to get his coat soft and shiny again and for the fur to grow over the wounds that had been shaved. While he lived with us he NEVER slept outside. Always in the house and more often than not... on or in the bed. A boy and his dog...
Karen warned us about Basenjis and cars. Fatal mix. Still Jengo just loved running free. It fed his soul. You could see it in his demeanor and eyes immediately. We were really careful about where we unhooked him. This has to be one of my absolute favorite pictures of him. It illustrates joy like no other...
and one more...
Behind our neighborhood is a county park with long bike/hike/horse trails. We use to walk Jengo there pretty much daily unless it was pouring rain, flooded, or blistering hot. There were flocks of turkey that inhabited there. Jengo loved finding feathers. He'd pick them up and carry them home without destroying them...
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I LOVE your pictures.......especially the one of him running. George used to chase semi's - big trucks on Highway 19 in Huntsville TX. He would just jump the fence and run and run....amazing he did reach 20 years old but I can tell you the memories he has given us.
You will look back and Thank God you had a basenji.......... to have another one....I do not know, no one could be like my George but all the stories are very similar.
Thank you for sharing your Jengo with us.....I enjoy looking at the pictures and the wonderful stories.
Helen -
@helen-schneider I was looking through more photos and videos today. Found this one and thought of you and George...
Click the link, it's safe. Jenga Jeng rippin' across the sand in Carmel... https://photos.app.goo.gl/HKR4zXd8csiHqwnM6
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I just saw your post, so my condolences are late, but sincere. I am so sad for the loss of your precious Jengo. Thank you for sharing the photos.
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@jengosmonkey
Thanks for sending. Enjoy every minute looking at Basenji's. Wish I could send a picture of George, I will try but last time it said it was too big . I am not that great with computers. -
Jengo - Why that name?
On the day we met Jengo his name had been given to him by the Irvine Animal Shelter, god love them, the work they put into him, and most of all for contacting Karen and Chuck, but the name they gave him was... Lester. Didn't work. Didn't like it. Hated it. Wasn't gonna keep it. Karen always assigned her new rescue pups a letter designation and was up to the letter V. My son and I were and still are HUGE Star Wars fans, so of course we toyed with Vader. But, Vader was a villain; Jengo wasn't. After we'd chosen him, the three of us headed back to the RV Park near Karen and Chuck's ranch. My wife then started Googling Basenji to learn about history. She traced the breed to Egypt, then later to the Congo where most of the US stock had been imported. Then she looked up the predominant languages in the Congo. French and four other languages, including Swahili. French didn't work cause... Poodle. Swahili seemed cool. So, she dove in looking at Swahili words and stumbled upon... Jengo. The definition she found said that it meant "addition" as in an addition to a home or a building. We LOVED that! This dog would be an addition to our family. Perfect. Later on, when we went to look it up again, we couldn't find that same "addition" definition. That was ok. We know what we meant when we chose it, that Jengo was an addition to our family. He helped build our family. Here's a pic of Jengo laying on the floor in a sunny spot. He was a heat seeker. You can see the shaved areas around the wounds that had been stitched up and were still healing...
Jengo - The RV Dog
So, Jengo rode home in the RV and he continued to travel with us in the RV whenever and where ever we went. He ALWAYS went with us in the RV. It was funny because at some point, very early on, he figured out the RV meant... It was time to go and we're leaving for another adventure. He was a laid back doggie most of the time... until the RV showed up in the driveway. Once he saw it through the front window he'd get wound up and follow us everywhere through the house paying special attention to both the front and garage doors. He made it abundantly clear that HE was going and we better not forget him. We never did. He was a great traveler and fellow adventurer. Here are a few pics of RV life...
Jengo- The Adventure Dog
Jengo's travel are pretty dang far and wide for a Basenji. And, he liked to travel. He's been all over California, parts of Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Nevada. He was good hiker, but loved to get home to his RV and snuggle up once the day was done. Here are a few pics of his adventures...
Redwood Dog
I love this one!
Snow Dog
Alpaca Dog...
California Sierra Granite Boulder Rock Hopping Dog
Pinecrest Lake Dog (We were married there and Joe's been there dang near every year since he was born)
Grand Canyon Dog
Arizona Petrified Forest Dog... in December
Jengo - The Camp Dog...
Jengo was a great camper. He'd sleep anywhere once he was tuckered out. I liked that he'd sleep in the dirt. He was a real dog and didn't care. And we didn't either. We'd let him back into the RV at the end of the day with all the dirt, bugs and all other manner of nature's gifts to conk out and sleep. We'd just wash everything once we got home.
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@jengosmonkey
Wow! Jengo had a full and adventurous life! You should write a book - “On the Adventures of Jengo”. I really enjoy your photos!
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Hi, I am so sorry to hear about Jengo’s passing, your photos are gorgeous, what a beautiful boy.
Heartfelt condolences to you and your family
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@helen-schneider
Helen you can send your potos to me and I'll gladly resize for you. -
Debra,
let me know your email and I want to send some pictures of my buddy George. I cannot copy them here but I am a computer idiot .
My email is helen
Thanks,
Helen -
We received this letter this past Saturday from University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Completely unexpected.
That was really special. Also, got around to painting his paw print...
I'm still toying with making a Shadow Box memorial for him. This is the one I made for my last dog...
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@jengosmonkey
I’m impressed with the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in reaching out to you and making a donation in memory of Jengo. You definitely have to do a shadow memory box for Jengo - I love the one you did for your previous dog. What a beautiful memorial!️
