Samantha, and the other dogs, sleep in the dining room where the dog door is. We have it gated off so they can't roam the house. They each have a crate and there is one large dog bed they can choose from. I don't know exact times they wake but usually when I come downstairs (around 9am) they are outside sun bathing. On weekends when my husband gets up before me and lets them roam the house she will come upstairs and let me know that I have had enough sleep by pawing me in the face. During cold weather or rain all the dogs like to stay asleep inside. Oh and Samantha snores when she is in a deep sleep.

Angelica

I have not been on the forum since last summer but I recently learned something that I thought I should share. To recap my basenji Samantha has Fanconi and as of her last visit she is in perfect health. All her numbers came back normal which makes our household very happy! Samantha takes Potassium Gluconate and she was taking 6 pills a day (3am and 3pm). I was purchasing the generic through her vet for 29.99 for a two week supply. Then I was told that the vet would no longer be carrying the generic and the name brand was 59.99 for the same amount. Well, her vet told us that she could talk to the vendor of the medication to see if they could compact the 6 pills into 2 pills a day since Samantha takes so many. So with her help I now order from the vendor and she takes 2 large pills instead of 6 pills a day. Best of all a month supply is $30 and it is delivered to my home.

Angelica

I have been laid up in bed sick today. I got up to get some water and came back to Samantha making herself comfortable on my pillow. She is always on the hunt for a new warm spot :) All I have to do to get her to move is blow on her head. She hates that!

Angelica

Everything around here has been crazy lately. Samantha had her second vet visit and is now on bicarbonates. I have been taking care of our new dog Winston who was just neutered so I am trying to keep him from running and jumping all over the place. This feels impossible when Samantha is constantly trying to get him to play. Anyways, the point of this post is I was organizing all the vet paperwork for my dogs and I came across the paper that lists Samantha's breeder information.

The sire is Haynie's Mystic Inferno and the dam is Haynie's Delightful Delilah. The owner at the time was listed as Glenda and Samantha was born in 2006. Has anyone heard of these dogs or the breeder? I posted in my introduction that my husband and I bought Samantha from a pet store in Willowbrook Mall.

Angelica

He had no microchip.

On July 5th my husband opened the front door to leave for work and a dog ran into our house. We called shelters but none had room so in the evening we went around the subdivision to see if he belonged to anyone. We made flyers, posted a found dog ad on the HSPCA website and no one replied. In the mean time he made himself at home and began trying to win over our dogs. Our dogs were not to happy with him in the beginning but eventually his persistence won out and they began playing with him. We decided to keep him and named him Winston. I am not sure what he is. Some say Jack Russell mix others say Rat Terrier. All I know is he is between 1-2 years old, 12 lbs. and has such a cute face!

Angelica

$544 for a collar! Considering I once got a cute Christmas collar with bells on it for Sam and she ate the bells about an hour later I think I will pass. Plus, $544 for a collar!

Angelica

Buddy (basenji/lab) will fetch for a little while. He will bring his toys to me when he wants to fetch. Samantha (basenji) will bring her little tennis ball and drop it at my feet every now and then. She will also toss her ball around and run after it herself sometimes. They both don't play fetch when I decide to initiate the game so I just wait for them to feel like it and let me know.

Angelica

I finally got an appointment for Sam to have her tests redone and see how everything is going so far. It seems all the doctors have split for the holiday and the residents and doctors still around are swamped. Anyways she will be rechecked and we will discuss further treatment.

@tanza:

Any update with your Vet? Let us know how it is going.

I have been getting the run around with the vet. I keep calling and being reassured someone will call me back but no one does. I requested a different vet to contact me today so hopefully I will hear something back.

Welcome and Mackey is a cutie! I love the ears!

Angelica

Thanks to everyone for your concern about Samantha. Jennifer, Gulf Coast is where Samantha is being treated and now I am having second thoughts. I called but her vet is not there until Monday. I will call Monday and get this sorted. I have not joined the Fanconi Yahoo group yet.

Angelica

@tanza:

Very interesting…. I have never heard of a Fanconi dog not on Bicarbs even caught very, very early? I think even in the protocol that is the first thing that Dr. Gonto talks about. This is from the Protocol...

7. SODIUM BICARBONATE ANTACID TABLETS- (Brands include URL, Rugby, Lily, Watson and Concord.) This is THE MOST IMPORTANT component of this protocol. Without correction of the Fanconi bicarbonate loss and correction of serum acid/base imbalance, this disease remains fatal. Sodium Bicarbonate 10-grain antacid tablets (similar in size and appearance to an aspirin tablet) are available OTC from any major pharmacy.

Yes, I understand that this is odd and it was to me at first too since I had read the protocol over and over again before going in to see the specialist. It is my understanding that they are taking things one part at a time and that her next visit they will see how her food change and potassium pills has affected her and then go from there. I am sure she will be put on bicarbonates eventually. She was diagnosed in April and has been doing well so for now I am trusting the vet to do what is best. I am sorry to hear about the loss of your basenjis and I hope one day that Fanconi will be a thing of the past.

Angelica

Terry,
We have our regular vet and a team of internists and nutritionists who are familiar with Fanconi. I had printed out the protocol when we first went to see the internal specialist but they already knew about it. Samantha is not on bicarbonates yet. For now it is just the potassium pills and food change. When she goes back for her next checkup they will rerun the tests and change things as needed.

Angelica

Hi Terry!

Pat, Samantha was born December 17, 2006. She was purchased from a pet store (didn't know about pet store/puppy mill link then) and they gave us some paperwork with her parents names on them but no contact information for the breeder. She is on the protocol and is doing really well. So far we have only had to change her food and give her 6 potassium pills a day. She was eating Kirkland Premium Dog food from Costco and now she is eating a high protein diet of Innova Dry Puppy Food and Royal Canin Calorie Control High Protein canned food. Shortly before her diagnosis she was peeing alot, drinking tons of water, losing muscle mass and here fur was getting really scraggly looking.
Now she is sleek, muscular, and her fur is so soft and shiny. She still drinks lots of water and we have to make sure she doesn't overheat but other then that she is her feisty self.

I am from Cypress, Texas and I own a basenji (Samantha) and a basenji/lab mix (Buddy). I adopted Buddy from the HSPCA and he is 6 years old. Buddy LOVES food and gains weight quick so he is what I call my diet dog. Everything he eats is measured out carefully to keep him as trim as possible. His also loves napping and following me around while I move about the house. He loves attention from people and seems to grow more indifferent to other dogs as he ages. Oh and being brushed. If he sees a brush he gets very excited and it is the only part of the grooming process that is easy with him. Everything else is usually met by hiding under something or turning into dead weight.

Samantha is 5 years old and has been recently diagnosed with Fanconi. She loves getting the first drink of fresh water, tearing up tissue, sun bathing, staring a hole into me, comfort, taking my spot on the bed or couch if I move, laying on Buddy and general mischief making. Despite the Fanconi diagnosis she is healthy and since it was caught very early she should be fine. She doesn't like swimming or rain but does enjoy a good bath. She will happily jump in the tub or shower. She likes people well enough and loves children but other dogs are difficult. She likes running up and down the fence line with the dogs that live around us but tends to be particular about other dogs.

I look forward to getting to know other on this board and their dogs.

Angelica