Our local shelter called us today thinking they had a Basenji Mix. So we hopped in the car and went to check out the dog. Attached our pictures of the dog in question.
He has been in the shelter since 10/27/09 and is mighty skinny. He appeared scared to death and nervous until we took him outside. Aside from this he also had fleas and Miranda saw worms in his stool. Once outside he was very friendly and even barked once and wagged his tail continuously.
Miranda and I did not agree with the shelter that this was a basenji mix. We are of the opinion that since not that many volunteers at the local shelter in our area have ever seen a Basenji, they conclude that any medium to small size dog with big ears and the slightest curl to their tail must be part basenji.
We took a couple of quick snap shots to find out what you think.
Basenji Mix or not?
Jason and Miranda
His head looks a bit Basenji like, but not realy anything else.He's a cute little Dog and What a pair of ears!
The ears are really look like he could fly. Very cute. Is this a shelter were they will keep him until they find him a home or what?
Rita Jean
Any chance of the shelter vetting him for the worms?
Poor boy. Hope they can get him wormed and that he finds a new home soon too. x
I agree with everyone, he has the best ears!!!! He might be a chihuahua mix??
I agree with everyone, he has the best ears!!!! He might be a chihuahua mix??
If not Chihuahua, possibly Rat Terrier? Cute little dog. Worth saving him, IMO.
My guess is that this dog is multi-generational mutt.
Any chance of the shelter vetting him for the worms?
When I mentioned it, the shelter worker told me that she thought he had been wormed, but would make sure. She also said she would make sure that he got treated for the fleas.
She seemed genuinely concerned, so I believe she will take care of it.
Miranda
The head shape (if the ears were just a bit smaller) reminds me strongly of AJ's head. It's possible he's B-mix, but very hard to tell. Maybe they can inform the new forever family about the DNA mutt test that was up in a different thread?
The thing with multi-generational mutts is that they tend toward the dog "default" which is the same look that you see in many street dogs and pariah dog, medium size, prick ears, and often tan coloring. Since basenjis are a primitive dog they share these characteristics.
