It started out like our usual Sunday Morning gathering at the dog park, our regular 9-10 basenjis, then more and more "occasional members" showed up and before we knew it our group had 15 basenjis, a couple of B-mixes, our token greyhound Dolly and a Pharoah hound! What an amazing day! Best yet, everyone got along really well, even those who we don't see but a couple of times a year.
We had 2 brindles (Savanna & Tiggy), 2 black & whites (Topper & Bodhi, oldest and youngest), 5 tris (Eddie, Nicky, Abby, Saana & Bogie) and 6 red & whites (Callie, Jack, Kea, Kramer, Kirby & Rocky), a very nice assortment of good looking basenjis. As they swirled and ran it seemed more like 30, it was a really beautiful sight. The newest basenji is little brindle Tiggy, her owner bought her 3 months ago (at 9 months old), she came from a "breeder" in Oklahoma and had been a complete cage dog with no human contact. She has not bonded much to her owner and is like a little feral dog, though she does now come over to the basenji group and plays with them very well, though won't let any humans get close to her. The other brindle girl, Savanna, can be feisty with new girls but went immediately over to Tiggy and really stayed with her, even dove in to protect her when 3 big dogs were playing a little too rough and scared her. All the dogs were protective of her, and played gently one on one with her. These little dogs amaze me with how sensitive they are and how they relate to dogs who need extra understanding.
And I don't mean to make anyone feel bad…but..... we were sweating with temp in the 80s ! This has been a classic "Christmas at the beach" kind of year and it has been like summer for the last week. I know we won't have this perfect weather for long, but it has really given us a "Florida Christmas" !
I'm jealous! I've never seen more than about 6 basenjis at once, all on leash at coursing events.
Our winter has been ridiculous. Its been in the 60s for a couple of weeks. Christmas Day I was at the park with just a sweatshirt, no jacket.
Yeah, we warmed up here the last couple of days. Bella has been loving it!!!
Oh Andrew, you would love to join our "Sunday Service" and meet a bunch of basenjis! We almost always have 8 or 9, and up to 11-12 on occasion. Having 15 today was really special and included folks that came from 30 to 80 miles away. Seeing them all run and play is really a joy.
Glad you have been having nice weather up in Hotlanta, the rest of the country has been freezing!
Anne, I am very envious of your neat play days down there! And you always get such lovely photos! We don't have anything around here for get togethers. Although now that I live closer to the city I might see if I can't drum up some ideas next year.
Andrew, I do however have some pictures from a nice get together we had a couple years ago. We all got together for a BBQ at Heather's house after a race meet. I think there were around 15 dogs. A couple of the residents did not care to welcome their visitors, so they had their own private zone. lol But otherwise they all had a grand time. These were all pretty much dogs that have been running with each other at meets across the Midwest, but otherwise each pack lives several hours apart. And then I had a few 4 and 5 month babies there too. 
We never got all the dogs in one shot together, but I do have a few with 9 or 10 in them.
Hanging out on the deck and Roxie giving Brutus a good sniff.
Jan trying to stir up some fun.
Dogs begging Andy to share his dinner. Notice that the ones looking at the food are all MINE! lol Actually Jada (pink collar) wormed her way into his heart and ended up going home with Jan and Andy a couple months later.
Also Heather posted a couple videos from the day on YT.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5xXp5uvqKc&feature=channel
Warning, this one does have some explicit language, but is funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs-6BLMpMbA&feature=channel
Ooow I'm so jealous….
The pics are great with that much B's..
I think, we Dutchies... have to come over one time to meet you all....
Only in my head I can imagine so many B's together...
Everyone is welcome here too by the way...
+1 on being jealous.
I brought my B to the dog park yesterday but it was filled with mostly larger dogs. I think he slept the rest of the day after all that running around.
I know there are several beasties in MN but we don't have a lot of dog parks and the ones we do have (at least the ones I've been to) tend to be populated by big dogs. I can't imagine that many basenjis all at once.
Same here, I only know of a couple of Basenji owners within hours of me. And WV only has one Basenji Breeder. It is interesting that one of the B owners is w/in walking distance, but her's is aggressive with other dogs.:( I have met this lady and she is very nice, she has seen my Bella and just adored her! I do so wish I had more contact with other Basenji slaves; however, I am very thankful that I have this Forum to keep informed and feel a sense of community. You all have been so friendly and helpful!!!:D By the way, those are some beautiful pictures…
Great photos Kelli! That was amazing, having all those basenjis and FOOD too.
We rarely get more than 6 or 7 in one shot as they are all spread out over the park! My husband takes the photos and gets lots of 2-4 dog action shots. We were joking about trying for a group shot with all the dogs (and humans hanging on to them all) but never got around to it.
The sunday meet ups here in tampa are great. My boy bodhi has become the "mayor" of the park as he has to play with every dog and human that comes in. He is very independent , so most of his time is spent playing with the big dogs(he gets growled at by the basenjis) he comes by to check in and water up for his next adventure. All the B's are wonderful and we all enjoy ourselves!
Hi, could you tell me where in Florida you are? I know there are several dog parke in St Pete, but I am now in Ft Myers. Is your park in this area?
we are up in tampa
