So my husband and I wanted to add another Basenji to our family. We have a 6 yr old little girl who is the love of our lives. We put in for some BRATs, but we had no luck because we were so far away. I finally found a little boy in a shelter in PA. I called and spoke with the shelter. They agreed to "hold" him for me until I could bring my hubby and little girl with me to go meet the new little man. His name was Ben in the shelter, but his new name is Miles.
Miles was picked up as a stray. Pretty much nothing about his previous life experiences is known. We don't even know how old he is. I saw his mugshot on Petfinder and thought he looked like a little guy who might be perfect for us. The only problem is that he was 100 miles away! Thanks to THIS message board, I found Basenji_Boy who could possibly be in the same area and message him asking if he would be willing to check out this little fella in the shelter for me. Without hesitation, the very next day I had photos, videos, and an evaluation on their visit with him!! Major kudos for him and his family!!! We still can't thank you enough!!
This past Saturday we drove to shelter and met up with Basenji_Boy and family. They brought two of their 8 dogs with them to meet our little girl. What cuties!! Then we went over to the shelter to meet Miles.
The shelter was VERY busy and the whole adoption process took over 2 hours. But we were able to spend some time with him and make sure the two dogs got along with each other. He sat down and took the treats I offered him very gently. He even gave me his paw!! What a sweetheart. But despite his current personable appearance, we still did not know his previous experiences and were still a little nervous to adopt such an unknown.
What we DO know now is that he is a true gentleman. He is remarkably well behaved. He can sit, stay, shake, and lie down on command. Hubby even told him to go lie down in his bed and he went straight to his new pillow and plopped down. We both stared at each other in disbelief! He can be touched all over and lifted without any issues at all. He even stacks! He has yet to beg for food at the table despite our little girl's best efforts. He let me clean his ears and wash his face with a washcloth. His nails don't need trimming but he let me inspect them without any issues.
His tummy is still very upset. We are giving him some anti-diahhrea meds to help with his transition. You can hear his little stomach gurgle all the time.
He has not had any accidents in the house, although he did try to mark my jacket earlier. He stopped immediately when I said NO. He slept through the night with the exception of three attempts to get into bed with us. And today he has had 3 loose stools and lots of peeing outside.
Miles & Lexi are getting a long MUCH better today. They had one little spat yesterday that left us wondering a little bit. Lexi's a little sassy and a sometimes possessive and might have bitten off a little more than she could chew with him- as he is significantly bigger. But her gurgles are much more reserved now and they are even lying closer to one another.
The only issue we're concerned with at this point is crating him. Holy geez he is LOUD! Talk about a hound dog…. He sounds like the fire alarm!! :eek: We live in an apartment so if he carries on, it will not be pretty. We've corrected him while he's in there but do not let him out. He was improved today from last night so that is encouraging. We will keep trying shorter periods in the crate today but the real test will come tomorrow when we have to be at work.
Anyways, thought I'd share our story with you all. Thanks to this message board and Basenji_Boy we have a new little man in our lives!