Hi,
I'm relatively new to the forums…..have been lurking in the shadows, gleaning lots of good info just by reading other's posts for quite sometime, but sorta new to posting myself.....

I wonder if any of you who are members of Mid-Altantic Basenji club can fill me in a bit. I live in southeastern PA 30 miles outside of Philly, and wonder if their events would be close/convenient for me. I have a 3 yr old rescued basenji and both he & I are desperate for basenji connections! We have met one other little female b at a local dog park, but I have seen photos & videos of basenji meet-ups on the web, and they look like SO much fun.

Thanks,
Cindy

Anyone interested & available to meet this weekend? Weather looks best tomorrow (Fri) or Sat. Also looking like the weather will be good next Fri & Sat. I'm willing to meet at any of the parks we have been considering on this thread (West Chester, Phoenixville or Oaks) Also, if you're interested, Wagsworth does a FREE Saturday stay & play (which just means you stay with your dog while they play - rather than dropping off for day care). Chase had an unexpected "sleepover" there Monday night - brought him there to play just for the afternoon & then couldn't get back because the roads were so bad from that unexpected storm. We missed him, but he LOVES it there - a treat for him & a little break from him for our sweet little (neurotic) border collie!

Cindy

I checked the weather. It's supposed to "warm up" into the mid 30's tomorrow afternoon, so I think I'll wait til then to take Chase to Lambert Park. I'll be there at 2 - giving plenty of play time before the "big game"!

Hope to see you then, if not, let's stay in touch and try for another date.

Cindy

Hi all (and welcome senji!)

I do have some indoor park info, but it probably won't work out for tomorrow (too short notice)

Yesterday, Chase & I went to check out (and for him to be evaluated as to his "acceptibility") Canine Creature Comforts in Malvern, PA (near corner of Rt 30 & Rt 401). It is primarily a dog daycare place, but on Saturdays for a nominal fee (I think it's $10 or $15 for an hour) you can bring your dog to play in their inside facilities. The good thing is that your dog has to be pre-approved, so all the dogs are assumed to be socialized (that's the evaluation part)and vaccinated. The bad thing is that I wasn't crazy about the facilities or staff. I wouldn't use them on any kind of regular basis for day care. But for an occasional romp with friends when the weather is as inclement as it has been, it would do. There was a huge number of dogs there when we went (these were daycare dogs) and I would assume they get alot of dogs for these Sat sessions. So, I don't know how conducive the space would be for our b's to play together - and there is definitely not enough room to run (in fact, they discourage that pack-running thing! - a favorite activity of my b!) Check out their website, www.caninecreaturecomforts.com

The other place I know of in the area is the place we board our dogs when we travel, Wagsworth Manor in Chester Springs. They also have a Saturday playdate thing, and they have fabulous facilities - both indoor & out. For this place you just have to bring your current vet record with you - no pre-eval needed. But I called them this morning to see if they'd be playing indoors today, and they said they were playing outside! So it's not necessarily an indoor option after all. www.wagsworthmanor.com You have to pull up their calendar to get a brief description of the Sat Stay-and-play. Again it is for one hour, and a small fee.

We ended up going to Lambert Park today. It wasn't too bad. Sunny & no wind - though only 13degrees! There were only 3 other dogs there (nordic breeds, of course!)and Chase was fine but he did begin shivering after about 30 mins….

So we will be there tomorrow morning, if anyone else is interested in braving the cold. If it looks like it may warm up later in the day, we may postpone our visit tothe afternoon - maybe 2pm? If anyone thinks they'll be there, let me know if the afternoon works.

Cindy

Hi all,

I plan to be there as well on Sunday, but am keeping my eye on the weather. It is supposed to be dangerously cold on Friday, but haven't heard if temps will moderate by Sun.

Val:
If you are coming from the Downingtown exit of the turnpike, and coming south on RT 100, watch for a Wawa at a traffic light (Greenhill RD) - go straight at that light and watch for a median left turn lane immediately past the Wawa. That is the turn into the park and it is not marked (easy to miss) Just drive up the hill past some athletic fields and at the top you will see the small fenced in dog park area.

Hoping for a warming trend!
Cindy

Donna,

It was great to meet you and your sweet Hunter this afternoon. It was nice for Hunter that there wasn't too much doggie activity and he could acclimate himself to the new park. I just wish it had been a bit warmer so Chase didn't get so chilly so soon! Hopefully Sunday will work out for all. I will watch the weather report…..

Val,
We missed you and your two pups!! Donna & I were there until 2:15pm when the dogs (at least Chase - Hunter has a nice warm coat!) began to shiver a bit. Hope everything was o.k. with you, and something just came up. We were worried that you had gotten lost. Hopefully we can meet you on Sunday.

Cindy

Hi Val, Donna, Lorraine & pups,

I'll be at Lambert Park on Monday 1/12 at 1pm and Sunday the 18th at 10.

I'll also bring directions to the other parks in Phoenixville & Oaks - in case we want to make this a regular thing - we can switch up the location (Val I applaud your willingness to drive an hour for a puppy playdate, but maybe one of these other parks will be a bit more centrally located for all!)

See you all next week…Chase can't wait!!

Cindy

Chase & I will be there too! We'll see you Monday at 1pm. (weather permitting) Looking forward to getting the pups together.

Cindy

Donna & Val,

Monday works for me. Name a time. If we do afternoon, I have to leave around 2:45 to pick up my son at school, so if we want the dogs to hang out a while, I could meet around 1-ish.

I know Lorraine can't do weekdays for now, but hopefully if this works for all, we can make this a regular thing. (meet up on the weekend next time)

Another option is to meet this weekend and try to work it so we can include Kaya and Lorraine…either plan works for me...I'm only 2 miles from this park, and we're there all the time!

Hope to see you soon,
Cindy

Hi again,

I just got the correct closing hours for the dog park in West Chester:

closed M-TH 10-11:30am

We could try meeting at 11:30 some week day. There is a bit of increased activity during the lunch hours, but not as much during the winter. Alternatively, we could meet around 1:30-2 ish. First thing in the morning tends to be a bit too cold for my weather-picky boy (who am I kidding?? I'm not too fond of freezing my tush off either!), but we'd be flexible depending on others schedules.

Cindy

I am so excited that there is such interest in having our pups meet! I have only seen videos online of basenji gatherings, and it is quite a joy to see them romping & racing together!

I will check out the times that the park is closed for maintenance when I go this afternoon. It has been daily (M-F) from 10-11:30, I believe, but I have heard that will be changing over the winter - less maintenance - more open hours!

I am available to meet up pretty much any week day (weekends as well, though, weekdays will be less crowded). Mid-day is best, before around 3pm when after-schoolers & after-workers start showing up.

here's the link from the township website with directions from all points:
http://www.wgoshen.org/Directions/To_Lambert_Park/to_lambert_park.html

I'll re-post once I've confirmed the maintenance hours.

Chase is looking forward to meeting all your basenjis!

Cindy

Hi Basenji lovers,

I am Lorraine's friend from West Chester, PA. I frequent the dog park she referred to in her post at the corner of Rt 100N (N. Pottstown Pike) and Greenhill Rd in West Goshen Township, just north of the boro of West Chester. I would LOVE to help arrange, or be a participant in a basenji hook up there. As area parks go, it's pretty dismal (the township begrudgingly built it after receiving donations of land from Wawa and grants from the state of PA, and being badgered by dog-owning residents!) - but it is a safe, totally fenced area for our little ones to have the freedom to run wild and associate with other four-legged friends.

At this time of year, the worst time to plan a play date there would be at the end of the day. From around 4pm to dark the park can get really crowded. If we want our basenjis to have the most fun with each other, I would suggest off-hours (late morning or mid-day) if possible. Weekends, obviously tend to be overly busy as well.

To answer some earlier post - the park in Radnor is NOT fenced and, at least for me and my little hunter, would not be a possibility. I am also not aware of a fenced area in Valley Forge Park.

There is a fenced dog park in Phoenixville, PA which might be convenient for folks coming from Montgomery County and Chester County as well. Check out www.reservoirdogspark.com - I have not been there myself, but have heard much good feedback from others who have.

Last one I know of is Reynolds Dog Park (Upper Prov Twnshp, Mont Co) out Rt 422/Oaks exit - fenced - also accessible to Mont Cty folks & Chester Cty folks. www.uprov-montco.org/canalandreynolds.html

Hope something comes of all this interest in planning a get-together!

Cindy Shuman (and Chase Utley, the dog)