Welcome to the forum Kristie and Kyro 🙂
Snorky says Hi !
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Hello everyone! I'm so glad I found this site. As I have read the many threads throughout your forum, I found myself at times nodding my head in agreement, astounded at the stories that could have very well been written from my own home, laughing out loud, and even shedding a tear or two. Thank you fellow 'senji owners/lovers, especially the forum administrators.
I live in Waukegan, Illinois with my husband, 21 yr. daughter (now part time resident and full time college student in Ashland, WI), 4-legged son, Tyler (Rwanda's Tyler the Tiger), and 4-legged daughter Kate (Faded Rose's Divine Miss Kate).
Our b. saga started aprox. 15 years ago when my daughter first saw the old movie "Goodbye, My Lady" (1956). She begged us for a Basenji. We ignored her. At the time we owned a Bulldog (Snorky, also called Crisco because he was white and fat-in-the-can:D ) who was the love of our lives and, we lived in a mobile home. –No room, no more dogs-- On top of that, our Bully was born deaf and hand signing trained in 'people speak' and basic obedience. With the research we did on 'senjis, we couldn't imagine bringing another high maintenance dog into the mix.
Fast forward to the daughter's 11th birthday. We were buying a new (?) home (100 plus year old Victorian) with a large fenced back yard, and a large living space (soon known as the b500 track-- bolt in the pet door, around the formal dining room table, jump onto and slam off of the parlour room sofa, out the parlour door to the staircase, up the stairs, over all 3 beds, down the stairs, and slam into the living room sofa, then directly out the pet door to race the preferred course of the day through the back yard) Needless to say we caved and purchased our first Basenji.
Tyler was a God send to Snorky. Engaged him in easy play, and kept Snork young thru many more years. (Although he chewed the crap out of his ears the first 6 months or so)
The most amazing thing about Ty was how easily he bonded with Snork and how much he understood the Snorks needs. We started the "bell training for out" with Ty at 2 weeks into the home. He caught on within 2-3 days.
What we never trained for and what we were unprepared for was that Ty, within a weeks time began ringing the bell for Snork to go out when he noticed his brother Snork sitting and staring at the door (Snorks behavior to let us know he had to go out) The Basenji pup would ring the small cow bell over and over until one of us would open the door for the elderly Snorkie. Most times Ty would never go out, just prance away and go back to sleep!!
My heart melts at these memories. Our first 'senji is now a grouchy old man with strangers, but still plays with his 'senji sister Kate as if he were 3 years old again.
OMG, have to make some dinner and try to stop the current attention getting behavior from Katie. Sorry for the long post.
If you want the rest of the story (ie.. Snorks passing and Katie as a new family member) let me know. I'll let the long winded introduction post stand and hope I have not offended anyone:o
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Welcome to the forums. What a great story but you can't leave us hanging about how Katie came to join you, you must finish:)
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Welcome and I also can't wait to hear more about Ty and Katie!
Pat
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More, more! And pictures! Welcome!
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Really nice story
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Welcome to the forum! Can't wait to hear the rest of the story.. and see some pics
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Great story. Ditto what Janneke said … welcome, can't wait, pics!
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Always nice to have new members who love their b's as we do!
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Isn't it funny how two dogs in a household will learn to 'watch over' one another. It makes me love them all the more when I see that, or hear a story like that.
Can't wait to read "the rest of the story"
Welcome!
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Welcome to the forum! We love our stories & pictures here
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Thank you. You all are so kind.
So, where was I? Oh yeah, Tyler and Snorkie had 5 wonderful years together, but there came a day when the quality of life for Snork was diminishing and we made the decision so many of us have had to make, to help Snorkie move beyond his pain and enter puppy heaven.
I called the vet and she was here the next day. We put our big boy on his favorite blanket and we all laid on the floor around him talking to him and petting him onto his next journey. He left us peacefully. Ty was circling and sniffing his big brother the entire time. We all sat quietly on the dining room floor, deeply grieving and silently weeping (even our vet's assistant), when Tyler cracks the biggest Basenji poot I've ever heard. Leave it to a Basenji to know how to make us laugh even in our darkest moments.
Over the next few months, no matter what we did Tyler remained lethargic. He slept all day, ate very little, and started to become a loner. He was always a cuddle bug and right in the middle of what the family was doing. Now he would go into an unoccupied room seemingly to just be by himself.
We looked at shelter dogs as a companion for him, but HE rejected them all. We decided on another Basenji as our only course of action. Enter Katie!! He accepted her from the first moment. Her first puppy nap in our home was on top of Tyler's back. He laid their the whole time wide awake with this look on his face like OMG what have you brought home???
Kate our r/w female, is also called Sissy. Sissy as in sister, sissy because she's afraid of the dark, and sisy, short for Sisyphus because one of her favorite things to do is collect small rocks in the backyard and bring them into the house. (We have no idea why)
Ty was a chewer when he was small, so we were prepared for that. Kate was/is a digger. Couch cushions, carpet, many bed quilts, 2 recliners, I can't remember it all!! Took us a while but we diminished most of the behavior by building a 4 x 4 sand box in the backyard in which we rebury her favorite rocks:D
Have a great day.
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What a loving goodbye for Snorkie and what a wonderful Vet to come and do it where Snorkie was comfortable and happiest. How funny that Katie likes to collect rocks. And the sandbox cracks me up!
Pat
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Great great story!
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Thanks for the responses.
I will post pictures as soon as I can figure it out!! In the mean time there is a pic on line of Kate and her litter mates…..
http://www.basenji.org/african/ImbaTena.htm
Scroll half way down the page. She's the one on the far left more concerned with sleeping than the foto op. The black on her muzzle is gone now but if you look at the 2 pups on the right with their tails uncurled, there is a black spot/stripe inside their curl. Kate has that. Other than that, she's all r/w and takes after her dad in that "he's not very brave" and the diplomatic comment concerning his big feet! She's a big foot for sure!!
I just looked at her grandmum's picture again, it's been a while, and that's our Katie from another time. Looks just like her
