Not sure if i'm being fair to my boy

[tuckersmom]

I'm not sure this is the right place to post this but here goes. i'm feeling a lot of anxiety over my situation. i have a (almost) 2 year old male basenji, Tucker. When i brought him into the family i was married and had adult children at home to help me out with him. in the last year my life has changed drastically. i'm now divorced and my son has gone off to school. there is no one at home or close by that i can ask to let Tucker out during the day or if i can't get straight home from work. i leave at 6:30 a.m for work and don't get home until at the earliest 5:30. He has always been in a Pen during the day with breaks when my son would let him out or when my husband got home at 2:30. thats obviously changed now. As you know with basenji's i can't leave him out to roam the house. he has no interest in the yard and would probably escape anyway. so, leaving him in a kennel (one of those 5x5 wire play pens) for 11 hours seems awful to me. i take him to the dog park for an hour on as many nights as i can after i get home (3 out of 5??). and when i'm home of course he's out but we go to bed at 10. he does sleep with me though. and i've been trying to walk him for 20 minutes in the morning. So…my question and need for feedback is....am i being unfair to him by keeping him. i love him, but i don't believe in making an animal suffer for my own needs. would it be better to find him a home that isnt restricted by such a work schedule? i just don't see any outs. (i've looked at daycare...i can't afford it).

thanks for the input

[DebraDownSouth]

Posted response to your duplicate post:
http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?t=9980

[marli]

Where do you live in WA? We are in Lacey. Whould love to get together with a basenji owner.

[tuckersmom]

i'm in Covington.

Have you checked out Evergreen basenji club? http://www.evergreenbasenjiclub.org/

i've also done some lure coursing through Cascade Coursing Club (only saw a few Basenji's there though) http://www.cascadecoursing.org/