Hi Capt Jacks persons, I haven't been to this site for quite a while, are you still here in CT. I retired in April as chief engineer on research ships for University of Hawaii. I now have more time to pursue other interests.
Stellabella is showing her age, has difficulty climbing stairs, we believe she is about fifteen years old.
Nice to hear from you, hope to hear from you again. rjtombari@sbcglobal.net

Hi Basenji people,
Would like you to read my profile under Introductions my user name stellasperson, and other files and images under Stella Bella.
Basenji People in CT and Hawaii, I would like to hear from you.

Hi Corvine,
I grew up in Waterford, have a house in Montville, I have a Tri mix, you can access my profile under name Stellabella. During the summer I operate RESOLUTE at Mystic Seaport, Stellabella is my faithful assistant, and entertains the passengers, She is an official Seaport volunteer.
We think she is the best dog in the world, was a rescue, has the sweetest personality, Basenji's forever! Stellasperson

Hi New from CT,
I tried to send you a message several weeks ago, I'm a neighbor, a few towns away. Stellabella is my Basenji girl. My part time sometime job during the summer is as an operator of a tour boat at Mystic Seaport. Stellabella assists me. I invite you to read the story of Stellabella on the introductions page.
Perhaps I made an error in my screen name, it is Stellasperson.
Hope to hear from you.

Hi From Stellaperson,
I grew up in Waterford, now call Westbrook home, just joined a few days ago.
I,m a Merchant Marine officer, at the moment sailing as Chief Engineer on University of Hawaii Research Ship KILO MOANA.
My part time sometime job is operating a tour boat an Mystic Seaport, I invite you to read the story of Stella on the introductions page.

Regards Stellaperson

Because of my job and other obligations I operate the tour boat sometimes, occasionally, and when they can catch me. I advise calling the Seaport, asking for the Boathouse, or Sharon Brown to find out when Stella "Will be in attendance".

I have been told that I should write a book on the adventures of Stella, haven't taken the time, perhaps when I retire in a few years.
I have not asked about taking her into HD, I have had too much fun talking to her by radio.

Yes, We think she is a beautiful girl, beautiful muscular chest, runs like the wind.
I will be adding to the story as I remember "Stella Stories", have added some this morning.

Hi friends of Basenji's
I would like to share my story about my Basenji.
My Sweetheart and I were looking for a dog following the loss of our German Shepard.
We had looked in several shelters around Connecticut, and didn't find any dogs that appealed to us.
We visited the Connecticut Humane Society shelter in Newington and looked at several dogs, however none interested us.
Those of you that have visited a shelter know that they are noisy places, incessent barking of many animals yearning to be taken to a good home.
We asked the attendant if she had a small to medium size shorthair female, her reply was "Come with me". We were taken to a cage where in was a sweet little girl quiet and calm on a carpet in the cage amidst the clamor of the other dogs in the shelter.
My Sweeted heart wasn't too impressed with this dog, she is partial to Shepards.
We were told that this dog had been kept a few extra days because she was such a good dog, however she was to be destroyed the next day.
I don't know if this was propaganda, but it worked. I had an inkling of what she was, but was not sure. The only history available was "Stray, found roaming on the streets of Hartford"
We were told that she was probably about 18 months old, and appeared to have had a litter of pups recently. The attendants at the shelter named her "Little Moma"
We took her home, she hopped right in the back of the SUV, on the way home we stopped at a department store and bought a bed for her, she hopped right in, and curled up, just the right size for her.
When we got home we let her out of the SUV, she walked a few paces, sniffed the ground, looked around, then walked back to me. She then put her paws on my right calf, and put her head between her paws for just a moment, then went back to exploring her new home.
I am reluctant to attribute this action as a thank you, but it sure seems so, she has never displayed this behavior since.
We live within walking distance to the beach, we took her to the beach at low tide, she ran, jumped, spun end for end, and did all sorts of playful things.
She then took off and ran across the exposed sand bars, running like the wind with her head into the wind, tail strung out.
She did return when called, and then went to investigate a tide pool. She sniffed the salt water then walked into the water. She seemed quite surprised when she got her feet wet, and it appeared that she tried to lift all fours at the same time, quite hilarious, perhaps she had never experienced walking in sea water.
We already had a cat, a feisty little feral female kitten that I had adopted,and brought home from an assignment in Oman, a middle east country. The cat was the Queen, so the dog has to be the princess, a pretty blaze on her nose reminded me of a star, I gave her the Italian name Stella Bella (Pretty Star), and therefore her full name is Princess Stella Bella Cinderella.
We had her for several days and never heard a sound from her.
We took her to our Veterinarian, and he confirmed that she was a Basenji, or at least a Basenji mix.
She is a big girl, weighs 52 pounds, and her tail does not curl, otherwise she is a perfect tri-color Basenji, even having brown spots on her front legs. She does bark when left alone in a vehicle, or left alone on a wire run.
She travels well, we have taken long trips with her, she snuggles up in her bed and sleeps much of the time while traveling with an occasional wake up to stretch, a visit up front and a nuzzle to both of us.
She goes with me about everywhere I go in my pickup truck, mostly she curls up on the front seat, and falls asleep with her head on my knee when traveling. Occasionally she wakes up, sits up and nuzzles me in my right ear.
As you all know Basenji's do like to take a "walkabout" and often get lost. We have had to retrieve her from the dog pound several times, she is well known to the local dog catcher, who calls us to tell us to "Come get Stella". She may have learned from spending several nights "In jail", she has not taken a "Walkabout" in several years.
Loud noises do frighten her, she can hear thunder long before we do, and is promptly under the bed. Fourth of July is a bad time for her, she spends most of the time for several days under the bed.
She does chase game, she has treed Racoons several times, two experiences with the "Black kitties with the white stripe" has taught her not to chase them. She is quite protective, she chases visiting cats out of the yard, though she does snuggle up with Mister P our twelve pound male tabby.
On one occasion when the first grandkid was visiting my

Sweeted Hearts' brother stood up and started to walk toward the child, Stella nipped his heels.
I was doing some work in a tenants house, a young female Shepard lived in the house, Stella got along well with the friendly Shepard, however when the Shepard, wagging her tail and being friendly approached me to greet me, Stella made it clear that the Shepard was getting too close to me, the Shepard went to the Vet for stitches in her nose, Stella got her fur ruffled.
I have heard stories of clever Basenjies', one of which is about a woman who had installed an invisible fence, her Tri figured out that she could approach the fence until the collar beeped, then wait for the battery to run down.
The husband of a long time friend is a Veterinarian in England, one of his clients had a Basenji that when left alone in the car figured out how to roll down the window to escape.
I had an experience with Stella, I had left her in my pickup truck while I went into Home Depot. Stella figured out how to open the split rear window in the cab of my pickup and tracked me into Home Depot. I was pushing a cart down an aisle, looked up ahead of me, and we both froze in an instant moment of recognition. Stella looked up at me as if to say,"I'm here, I found you, is that ok?" As I escorted her out of the building a clerk said to us "Don't hit me Daddy" of course I escorted back to the truck, did not hit her, but spoke a few sharp words to her.
I am an Amateur radio operator (Call is KA1VKE), I have a mobile radio in the truck, and I often carry a portable transceiver. On occasions I have left the truck radio on an unused frequency, tuned the portable radio to the same frequency and left her in the truck. When she begins to bark I tell her over the radio to be quiet, she looks around quite puzzled, to see where my voice is coming from, and does stop barking. Sometimes takes several transmissions, but she does stay quiet.
When startled by a knock on the door, or an animal on the outside deck during the night she does vocalize with what sounds like a mixture of a yodel and a bark. If she hears something unfamiliar she will pace to the windows and make a noise like a Huff..Huff. Otherwise she is ghostly silent, we can call and call her only to turn around to find her sitting with a "You called?" look on her face. I have attached a small bell to her collar to alert her presence.
Soon after we brought her home she cleaned off the kitchen counter without making a sound, we went out to dinner that night.
I once gave her a nice piece of Prime Rib, she buried it in the yard, I was told by our Veterinarian that this typical behavior of street dogs, as they don't know where their next meal is coming from.
Must be continued on another entry due to length

Stella Bella's Human Companion

From Stellasperson, This is a continuation of the posting I began and had to split into two postings due to size.
Stellasperson…Continued.

My part time job during the summer is operating a tour boat at Mystic Seaport Museum, I take my Sweeted Heart and Stella along as my assistants, most passengers like very much for Stella to ride with them, many want their pictures taken with Stella, she usually obliges with a Hollywood like pose, of course the kids pet and hug her, she never seems to mind the mauling.
She has been adopted as the mascot of the Boathouse at the Seaport, she is an official Volunteer, she gets credit for her time, We Made a Denim sleeve to fit over her collar, (Official Seaport Uniform) she has her own identification badge, and this year she is to receive a five year Volunteer pin.
I have trained her to obey hand signals, two signals I have trained her to do is approach a person I point to and raise her right paw to "Shake", another is to approach a person I point to and "Sit Pretty", she does both well, and took little training. I trained her these "Tricks" for accepting her five year award.
We all know that Basenji's don't like to get wet, during a rain storm Stella will go outside reluctantly, holding her head low, squinting her eyes in the rain, does her "Piddle" and runs back to the porch. She does like to ride with us in a small rowboat, and in our small sailboat, she stands in the Bow like a figurehead.
She will grudgingly walk with us through water up to her chest, and that she may have to swim a bit in to get a small Island not far from the beach we live near.
I've read that Basenji's are classified as sight hounds, Stella can see a cat or squirrel two blocks away, she gets very excited when she sights another animal while riding in a vehicle.
Stella does love to snuggle, most evenings after her dinner she will sit at the foot of the sofa, as my Sweeted Heart and I sit and watch some TV. Stella stares at us until we ask her if she wants to get up on the sofa, of course she jumps right up between us and snuggles in.
At night she will climb into her bed, but sometime during the night she will climb up on our bed, she likes her half in the middle stretched out across the bed. Numerous times I have woken up about to fall off the bed as Stella has pushed me to the edge of the bed.
Stella does seem to understand a vocabulary and amazingly does as she is told with limitations as we Basenji keepers know they can be stubborn.
One command she knows well is "Go piddle", she go outside, will then sniff around to find that special spot to squat.
Often she will sit in front of us and stare at us, we have learned that this means "I want to go out". Has anyone noticed female Basenji's do a three legged squat? Not a salute like a male, but definitely one hind foot off the ground when squatting is this common?
I am away from home for three or four months at a time sailing as engineer on ships, (I am now in Hawaii) but I get equal vacation time. When I get home I get smothered with "Doggie Kisses" (Sweeted Heart kisses first). While I am home my Sweeted Heart tells me that Stella is definitely MY DOG!
We have told Stella many times "We are so happy you selected us".
I have had dogs that I dearly became attached to, Stella is a special one.

Stella Bella's Human Companion.