So You Want to Own a
Basenji
They
are very smart and strong-willed, and can be a
definite challenge as a pet. They can be curious (what
else is in this trash can that I can scatter all over
the house?), playful (I wonder if I can unroll this
toilet paper as one continuous line throughout the
house?), food-oriented (now that I'm on the kitchen
counter
and have inhaled the butter, the roast, the
rolls, knocked the veggies on the floor, and broken 3 of
those clear thingies that my humans call "mom's best
crystal", what else can I eat?), climbers (gee, I really
CAN swing like Tarzan from the curtains), hearing-
impaired
(What do you mean, you said "come?" I thought you said "run."), generous (I hope mom likes the freshly dead mouse I left on her
pillow), possessive (what do
you mean, get off your bed, this is MY bed---see, I peed
right there in the middle of it to identify it as mine), water-challenged (but it's raining outside, my feet will
melt, and I can't swim, and so I pooped on the rug
instead), helpful (I know you like clean underwear, so I
chewed the crotch out of all your dirty panties for you,
see?), intelligent (I know all about the theory of
gravity---I tested it using those antique plates that
hung six feet up on the kitchen wall---now you get to
figure out how I got all the way up there to do it), strong-willed (I'll listen if I feel it's in my best
interest---so what's in it for me?), eager to please
(look what I did mom! Now you can read your favorite
magazine easily, page by page---sorry about all the
little holes and tears---it was a difficult job, but
someone had to do it), playful (so what if you're late
for work, you have to catch me first before you can put
my collar on), physically active and in need of regular
exercise (I don't care if it's two in the morning, I'm
bored, and this is the perfect time for running the
basenji 500 through the house), protective (what do you
mean, that was your beanie baby collection? I was
defending the family room from an invading hoard of
fuzzy beasties, that's why I disemboweled them all!),
and feral (that wasn't a garden hose, that was a giant
snake, and it snuck up on me, and was going to eat me,
so I killed it---I don't wait around to see what it is,
I ask questions after it's dead).
Anyway,
I wouldn't have another breed of dog. They're
actually not dogs; they're part cat, part kid, and part
monkey. And they're a lot of fun and work. They're
my "beasties" and there's never a dull moment around
here. They're as much fun, responsibility, and joy as
having kids---but if you treat them like stupid animals,
they'll run roughshod over you. They need to know that
you're the boss, they need to be taught boundaries, and
they
need your undivided attention at times. They are
meticulously clean, shed little, and act like little
clowns a lot of the time. If you're still interested in
the breed, get in touch with your local breeder.
