Anyone know this girl

[nkjvcjs]

I virtually fostered this girl, Aries, on Facebook, and every day, I look at her and my heart melts. She is 13 years old!
The write up says she is a former show dog, so I was just wondering if anyone recognizes her, or can tell me anything about her.
http://www.loveofanimals.org/animals/detail?AnimalID=1908350
Here is the communication I have had regarding her so far:
ME:
Hi,
I am writing for more information on Ritzy Aries.
Is she fanconi tested? Is she being regularly strip tested?
You say she is a retired show dog. What is her registered name? I ask because I can then look up her pedigree and see if any of her parents or grandparents are fanconi affected.
I realize that applying to adopt a 13 year old girl means she is in her golden years. What other special needs does she have? How are her joints? Arthritis? How is her eyesight?
Thank you very much,
Nicole Freedman
THEM:
I will be happy to answer your questions, but I don't think that we would consider shipping her to Chicago. We are in California. Were you planning a trip here?
BJ Motko
ME:
Yeah, I saw that. We haven't worked out the details of transport yet. We have friends in San Francisco, about 3 hours from you, so we would fly in to meet her and stay with our friends. If the adoption works out, we would either try to work out a transport arrangement with the BRAT underground Railroad or we would fly in, rent a car, and drive home with her, although this would take some time to plan out, as we have friends we would want to work out visiting in Arizona and Kansas on the way home. We have been wanting to do a gross country road trip for years, so this would be a nice way to force the issue. It would also give us a good amount of time to get to know her before she meets all of her new siblings.
Thanks,
Nicole
They haven't written back yet.

[Quercus]

She is unlikely to have Fanconi, unless they are treating her for it. The usual onset is between 5-9…if she had it and wasn't being treated for it, she wouldn't have made it to 13. She looks great! How on earth does someone send a 13 year old dog into rescue

[renaultf1]

Unfortunately it says she was owned by an elderly woman who is no longer capable of taking care of her. I'm sure it was a painful and difficult decisionfor her.

[Quercus]

@renaultf1:

Unfortunately it says she was owned by an elderly woman who is no longer capable of taking care of her. I'm sure it was a painful and difficult decisionfor her.

Oh, I didn't see that….that is terribly sad, and I am sure heartbreaking for her owner.

I am going to post this to the breeder lists to see if anybody recognizes her.

[Quercus]

Nicole beat me to it I hope we find out some info about this girl…she sounds like a sweetie!

[nkjvcjs]

@Quercus:

She is unlikely to have Fanconi, unless they are treating her for it. The usual onset is between 5-9…if she had it and wasn't being treated for it, she wouldn't have made it to 13. She looks great!

She does look amazing doesn't she?
There were some 2007 posts on the BBR list about very late onset, with a 13 year old being a dog that was regularly strip tested, thus truly onsetting this late, or something like that, so I figure it is best to be safe and ask if she is tested in some way.

[nobarkus]

If she 's in fairly good health she could live another 4 years, maybe more who knows. My first lived to be 17-1/2. Senior B's are wonderful. Though you should be prepared that they could need a lot of care/vet visits depending on what comes up.

[Basenjimamma]

She looks lovely, I want to wish you good luck, if it is meant to be she will be in your arms before you know it..

[Quercus]

@nkjvcjs:

She does look amazing doesn't she?
There were some 2007 posts on the BBR list about very late onset, with a 13 year old being a dog that was regularly strip tested, thus truly onsetting this late, or something like that, so I figure it is best to be safe and ask if she is tested in some way.

Sure, that makes sense…I remember there was some discussion at the time that the linkage test came out that dogs that are carriers may spill some sugar very late in life...but it doesn't progress to full blown Fanconi..maybe that is what the posts were referring to?

But either way, it is wise to ask about it.

[thunderbird8588]

Hope you manage to get her nkjvcjs

[Vicki]

The Basenji girl is 13 years old! A senior.
I would be put off by all the health questions. A 13 year old senior will have some health issues and continue to have health issues as she ages that a new owner would assume and should expect.

The foster in CA stated they did not want the dog "shipped" to Chicago.
If I were fostering, that would include BRAT or any other transport with the exception of the new owner picking up the Basenji senior and driving her home.
I hope you are able to visit California and the Basenji, then drive home with her.

Everyone needs a vacation - this is your calling to take yours!

[tanza]

@nkjvcjs:

She does look amazing doesn't she?
There were some 2007 posts on the BBR list about very late onset, with a 13 year old being a dog that was regularly strip tested, thus truly onsetting this late, or something like that, so I figure it is best to be safe and ask if she is tested in some way.

No I don't think it was that they became affected, I think that was that they had their dogs DNA tested and the results said Affected, but they were not showing Fanconi

[nkjvcjs]

@Vicki:

The Basenji girl is 13 years old! A senior.
I would be put off by all the health questions. A 13 year old senior will have some health issues and continue to have health issues as she ages that a new owner would assume and should expect.

I agree. I hoped that my message got across that we expect some health issues, but I feel like I have a duty to know what the current health issues are before going into an adoption.

@Vicki:

The foster in CA stated they did not want the dog "shipped" to Chicago.
If I were fostering, that would include BRAT or any other transport with the exception of the new owner picking up the Basenji senior and driving her home.

I assumed shipping to mean with a shipping company. I see a big difference between BUR and a professional shipper. But I gave multiple options, and I really hope we can do the vacation too.

I think I would let one of my fosters go to their new home via BUR, but I can't say for sure since all of my fosters have been adopted locally. I would definitely not let my fosters go to a family I haven't met though, even if they meet the rescue's requirements, which is why I said we would fly in and meet her regardless of whether she drives home with us or with BUR.

I guess I just have to keep waiting, and hoping, and going over every line I wrote, and second guessing myself, and wondering if what I said was the right thing.

Right now, my biggest worry is, if her foster home is willing to keep her, is it fair to make her transition to yet a new home at her age? I really hope I get to talk to the foster family to talk this out.

Thanks for all of the encouragement.

-Nicole

[khanis]

@Quercus:

Sure, that makes sense…I remember there was some discussion at the time that the linkage test came out that dogs that are carriers may spill some sugar very late in life...but it doesn't progress to full blown Fanconi..maybe that is what the posts were referring to?

I'd like to correct this statement in that there have been ONLY TWO basenjis that have tested as carriers but were actually affected.
I am not sure the status of the first bitch.
Our bitch passed away two weeks ago and kidney samples were sent to Dr. Johnson. All fingers and toes crossed that "Funny" was the answer to everything he needs to get the direct test. Along with new specialized equipment, I have many good thoughts on his research. It is very promising thus far!!

With this in mind, ALL CARRIERS NEED TO BE STRIP-TESTED, if they were from a breeding that could have also produced affecteds.
Obviously, a Clear x Carrier breeding could not produce an affected, so that point is moot.
But, if the Carrier is from a Carrier x Carrier or Carrier x Affected breeding, they should still be strip-tested in the off-chance that they too could be affected.
Until the direct test is found, we have to go on what they give us, and just keep checking our dogs regularly.

[nkjvcjs]

@khanis:

I'd like to correct this statement in that there have been ONLY TWO basenjis that have tested as carriers but were actually affected.
I am not sure the status of the first bitch.
Our bitch passed away two weeks ago and kidney samples were sent to Dr. Johnson. All fingers and toes crossed that "Funny" was the answer to everything he needs to get the direct test. Along with new specialized equipment, I have many good thoughts on his research. It is very promising thus far!!

With this in mind, ALL CARRIERS NEED TO BE STRIP-TESTED, if they were from a breeding that could have also produced affecteds.

Thanks for sharing that Kathy. I hadn't realized that.

I am sorry to hear about Funny, but I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed with you.

-Nicole

[renaultf1]

@khanis:

With this in mind, ALL CARRIERS NEED TO BE STRIP-TESTED, if they were from a breeding that could have also produced affecteds.
Obviously, a Clear x Carrier breeding could not produce an affected, so that point is moot.
But, if the Carrier is from a Carrier x Carrier or Carrier x Affected breeding, they should still be strip-tested in the off-chance that they too could be affected.
Until the direct test is found, we have to go on what they give us, and just keep checking our dogs regularly.

Really good info. I have another question:
What about a Carrier from a Carrier x Carrier breeding that DID produce Affecteds, but this Carrier (from the Carrier x Carrier breeding) produced Clears when bred. An Affected can't produce a Clear, so would this Carrier truly be a Carrier and thus not need to be strip tested? If this were your dog, would you still strip test it?

[tanza]

@Vicki:

The Basenji girl is 13 years old! A senior.
I would be put off by all the health questions. A 13 year old senior will have some health issues and continue to have health issues as she ages that a new owner would assume and should expect.

The foster in CA stated they did not want the dog "shipped" to Chicago.
If I were fostering, that would include BRAT or any other transport with the exception of the new owner picking up the Basenji senior and driving her home.
I hope you are able to visit California and the Basenji, then drive home with her.

Everyone needs a vacation - this is your calling to take yours!

Why would you be put off by the health questions? If I was considering a senior for adoption, I would want to know all the issues… otherwise how could you make an informed decision on if this was a dog that you could do the best for??? I certainly would not be put off by the questions?

[nkjvcjs]

Here's what they wrote back:

Below is the response from the foster mom regarding her health certification.
She was surrendered when her owner developed dementia and was no longer able to care for her.
I'm sorry I can't provide more concrete info. I have no idea how costly or invasive a fanconi test is.

"I have no idea if she has or has not. They gave me no records at all so I don't know when her vaccines are due, have her spay certificate or know when and if any tests were done. Sorry wish I could be of more help there. I wouldn't worry to much about genetic disease just because she is so old. I would think something would have shown up by now, I was reading something that said it is usually diagnosed between 5 and 7 years of age but can manifest between 3 and 11 years. I can understand their concern in wanting a healthy dog."

BJ Motko

Here is what I am thinking of writing back:

Thanks for the information.
That is horrible to hear about her owner.

Fanconi usually develops between 5 and 9, but has been diagnosed in older dogs.

With a girl this old, I would just be sure to strip test. You can get Diastix from Walgreens or another Pharmacy, http://www.walgreens.com/store/catalog/Diabetic-Supplies/Reagent-Strips-for-Urinalysis/ID=prod4782&navCount=1&navAction=push-product?V=G&ec=frgl_666850&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=sku304782
and test her urine. The strip shouldn't change. If it does, it means she is spilling sugar, which is a sign of fanconi.

Here is some more info on fanconi. http://www.basenjihealth.org/health-content.html#fanconi

How is her health otherwise?

Thanks so much,

Nicole

What do people think of that as a response? What else should I say.
They haven't said yet if I can have her or not.
I'm guessing I won't be able to find out her registered name.

I found the post on BBR that I was thinking of, it was from 2007, and listed dog ages and numbers of dogs of each age at diagnosis. There were basenjis diagnosed at 11, 12, 13, 15 and 16. The 15 and 16 year old were not regularly strip tested. For those of you on BBR, it is message #26325, with a very interesting follow up in message #26434

Thanks,

-Nicole

[AJs Human]

I saw her photos, she's a very pretty girl. I couldn't tell whether she had a kennel tattoo. AJ has one on the inside of his leg. If you get her, you may be able to track her with that.

[Vicki]

@tanza:

Why would you be put off by the health questions? If I was considering a senior for adoption, I would want to know all the issues… otherwise how could you make an informed decision on if this was a dog that you could do the best for??? I certainly would not be put off by the questions?

My point is, if a person wants to adopt a Basenji (or any dog), sometimes we have to take some bad with the good. The senior needs a home. I love my dogs, and I don't care what kind of health issues they have when I decide to adopt - they need to go somewhere, don't they? Once the dog is living with me, I address health issues with my vet. I'm not taking anyone's word for a dog's health.