Hi.
I'm Ann in Redlands, CA and I'm happy to have found this forum!
My husband and I adopted our adult Basenji, Noel, about 9 months ago. We had never heard of Basenjis until we decided to get serious about finding an allergy-friendly breed for me. Yep, I'm allergic (to most of the planet it seems) and didn't think I'd ever be able to share my home with a dog. Basenjis fascinated us the minute we saw the first picture on the internet, and we were determined to learn more about them…the more we learned, the more we wanted one...even though several breeders and breed-lovers tried to talk us out of it with the usual "this dog is not for everyone" warnings. Finally, when the fabulous folks at Medfly Rescue introduced us to Noel, we were hooked and had to take her home.
It's been a wonderful, challenging, scary and expensive (that's a whole other posting) and, no exaggeration, life-changing 9 months. Noel has added so much to our world. I spent my first 50 years dogless, but I know Noel and Basenjis will be a part of my life from now on.
I'm learning a bit more everyday and have probably figured out about .2% of what I need to know, so this forum will likely see lots of questions from me.
Thanking you ahead of time for your learned advice!
Ann
Welcome to the forum Ann and Noel! What a pretty girl she is!
He's so handsome!!! Welcome to the forum. Now you have to share the "expensive" story with us all. :D:D:D
Welcome and he is very handsome please do share your story. Ann welcome to being a basenji parent.
Rita Jean
Welcome Ann and Noel. You've got a very handsome boy there. Kudos for adopting a rescue B..
Welcome Ann! Noel is a beautiful black and white too. Yes, the forum is very helpful. I went 31 years and 3 Basenjis with no forum. I had no help in the 70s and 80s and in the 90s I some help from my breeder friend in NY through letters or phone calls. We all did great! Now with my forth I'm seeing things people and their Basenjis are going through that I went through. But this new rescue I have is different then the other 3 so I have the forum for new problem help. By the way I have a friend here in the Bay Area that grew up in Redlands. I got my new rescue from Medfly as well back in May.
Welcome Ann and Noel, he's gorgeous 
He's beautiful! I just rescued my first basenji a couple of months ago. But I have been a basenji owner for over 17 years. Do love the unique breed! It just gets better…..
Welcome to the forum Ann! He's very handsome! He's got that too smart for his own good expression, hehe.
Edit. SHE is very pretty. Whoops.
Thanks for the welcomes. It's fabulous to see your replies from around the world.
And I must agree with you. Noel is gorgeous! We hadn't thought about getting a B&W until we met her…Oh, Noel's a she not a he. Accent on the second syllable. She was born in November, so I bet her original family named her with the Christmas season in mind.
I will tell the "expensive" story eventually. It may require a couple glasses of wine first, and I'll have to find the proper forum category. Is there one for stupid human behavior?
@Ann:
Thanks for the welcomes. It's fabulous to see your replies from around the world.
And I must agree with you. Noel is gorgeous! We hadn't thought about getting a B&W until we met her…Oh, Noel's a she not a he. Accent on the second syllable. She was born in November, so I bet her original family named her with the Christmas season in mind.
I will tell the "expensive" story eventually. It may require a couple glasses of wine first, and I'll have to find the proper forum category. Is there one for stupid human behavior?
That would probably best go into "Basenji Story Swap".
What a pretty girl. And I predict it won't be long before you have 2 basenjis.
@Ann:
Thanks for the welcomes. It's fabulous to see your replies from around the world.
And I must agree with you. Noel is gorgeous! We hadn't thought about getting a B&W until we met her…Oh, Noel's a she not a he. Accent on the second syllable. She was born in November, so I bet her original family named her with the Christmas season in mind.
I will tell the "expensive" story eventually. It may require a couple glasses of wine first, and I'll have to find the proper forum category. Is there one for stupid human behavior?
Hmmm… stupid human behavior... that would cover about all of us on this forum.... gggg
@Ann:
I will tell the "expensive" story eventually. It may require a couple glasses of wine first, and I'll have to find the proper forum category. Is there one for stupid human behavior?
Probably post it in "Story Swap"…now we have to hear it with a lead-up like that! Ha, ha. 
Hey Ann. I am with you. I didn't know a thing about basenjis either. I got mine from the shelter and didn't even know what I had until the vet told me. Then I was like.. a bas-who-da-waht???? Now, I'm like proud to tell anyone on the street…he's a basenji...yep. And we should all have badges for the love we put into these strange and fabulous little friends.
I will take the badge but all the love they give us back and the stories they give us from everyday life will work for my badge. Candiejohn looks like you ready for lots of fun.
Rita Jean
