In Memoriam: Benjamin Eric Newton

Bill and I, along with our family, would like to express our gratitude to everyone for the many expressions of sympathy and support we have received from BRAT adopters and volunteers from all around the nation.  Besides many memorial donations to the Mattoon Knights of Columbus to support the charities Ben supported:  Camp New Hope and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Coles County, I am aware that BRAT has received many, many donations in his memory.  Bill and I and the rest of our family knew Ben as a wonderful son, grandson, brother, and uncle, but we did not have any idea that others also recognized him as a wonderful man and community member.  His tragic death is a loss to all who knew him. 

Sincerely,
Bill and Liz Newton
John and Mary Fehrenbacher
Jamia Newton-Jones, Josh, Jeremy and Jonathan
Julie and David Piacenti
Katy and Blaze, his basenjis

(for more on Benjamin Newton, visit http://www.basenjirescue.org/)

The Ides of March

My dogs are ready for spring. But it's been cold and nasty and very basenji- unfriendly. So these are some of the responses I've gotten when I've tried to take them out:

Nina hiding

Seamus declaring his opinion

Well, Spring occurs, whether the weather agrees or not, on Wednesday at 7:02. So let's hope for the best. Thanks for nothing, Punxatawney Phil!!!

~Mandy Hazen

Fundraiser

On Saturday, March 9th I raised $125 for BRAT at the beCAUSE Craft Show.  I was selling my Happy Fantastic kids clothing and handbags and accessories.  And, yes, some are basenji themed!  Enjoy these photos of my crafty creations the show.

Basenji Tails

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It's a basenji thing. If you're here, you understand.

Did you vote today?

New Available BRATs: Eko, Leela & Sam, Wrinkles

Name: Wrinkles
State: Georgia
DOB: 1/1/2012
Gender: Male
Color: Red and white
Weight: 23

Mr. Jackson Wrinkles, as he is formally known, still has some playful puppy left in him. He likes to bat and nip his foster dad to get him to play, but if given a bone, he'll just go to town on that instead. He likes curling up close and following his people around the house.
 

Click HERE to read more about Wrinkles!

Name: Leela & Sam
State: Georgia
DOB: 2/4/2008
Gender: Female & male
Color: Red & white

Leela and Sam are five-year-old littermates, born February 4, 2008. Aside from 15-minute visits in the vet's exam room, these two have never been apart. Both enjoy sleeping under the covers, good in the car, and very well house-trained. They take cues from each other, with Sam usually being the one to take the lead. They are uneasy when separated from each other, so must be placed together.

Click HERE to read more about Leela & Sam!

Name: Eko
State: Connecticut
DOB: 2/24/2010
Gender: Male
Color: Red & white
Weight: 23

Eko is a sweetheart! He is happiest cuddling with his human and exploring the yard for critters. He gets along with other dogs and enjoys the dog park but when it comes to time with his human he prefers a lap of his own.

Click HERE to read more about Eko!

Ya wanna adopt a Basenji? We got adoptable Basenjis! Check out the main BRAT page for more available dogs, and lots of great information about bringing one of these funny four-legged creatures into your life.

Routine

Routine is very important to our Munchkins.  Their lives have a certain rhythm, and they know each step. They can tell time. Ivan gets his thyroid pill an hour before they eat, and Dasa comes to me demanding food almost exactly one hour after they both get sweet potato “pills.” Ivan goes to Eric around 8 pm and looks at him, willing Eric to make me appear because I leave the library at 8 and should be home soon. They know when and where things are supposed to happen.

When we interrupt the regularly scheduled program for the day, they get a little worried. We recently had our kitchen painted. Any other room would not have required quite the planning this project involved. However, not only does the kitchen have the magic food box, but it also contains the door to the back yard. Ivan and Dasa’s food is refrigerated, so we had to find a way to provide their usual three meals a day at the expected times without interrupting the painter. 

We pulled the dorm-sized fridge and the old microwave out of their storage spots in the basement. The Munchkins might attempt to tell you they were held hostage in a dank dark hole. For the record, our basement is finished and contains Eric’s office as well as a bed where we retreat for tornado warnings in the wee hours. It also has a comfy arm chair and lots of small round dog beds. One of their faithful humans was with them at all times, if for no other reason than that we would not trust the little monkeys down there by themselves. We took some of their treats, and toys, we held up the blankets on the bed inviting small dogs to snuggle into blanket nests. We reminded them where their water dish was.

Dasa settled into camping in the basement much more easily than Ivan did.  She napped on the bed and did not get upset as long as we were with her, which is a huge triumph for our little girl who used to hide from the slightest noise or disturbance. Ivan was worried; something was happening upstairs and he wasn’t allowed to supervise. He stood by the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs and made unhappy “no one consulted me about this” noises. We managed to distract him when we started preparing their food. When the painter left for lunch, we took a trip into the back yard, with Ivan and Dasa on leashes to prevent them from acquiring gossamer blue highlights. Ivan grumped and huffed about the leash until we took it off in the back yard. He acquiesced to wearing the leash back through the house, but he was highly indignant.

 

To make matters worse, when the painter went home at the end of the day, Ivan discovered his little bed cave under the kitchen desk had been moved. The entire desk had been moved to the piano room. It was an outrage. He settled into the dog beds beneath the desk and sighed mightily.

 Ivan and Dasa patiently pose in the empty kitchen.
Say Cheese!

 

 Never mind.

 Thank heavens it only took the painter two days to paint the kitchen and adjoining bathroom. Poor little Ivan was exhausted. Both nights he curled up on the couch, draped over Eric’s lap, recovering from his ordeal of spending the day in the basement.

 **** Please Remember  Click for Curly Tails

Has it really been a year?

Recently I took in a female foster and it occurred to me that my newest BRAT adoptee, Macy, has been with me almost a year.  I cannot believe I adopted her last May!  She was underweight, having just had a litter of puppies whose whereabouts were unknown.  She was found in a shed in an abandoned house and was extremely shy, but well behaved.  From the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew she would be a Failed Foster...my second.  She was a true blessing as she came toward the end of my first Failed Foster's life...sweet Roxy who succumbed to heart failure a few months later.

Like many fosters, Macy is still unsure, still learning that she is completely safe in our family.  My boy B, Iggy, took to her immediately but she is still quite reserved.  The playful, young, new foster has been unnerving to her, as if she is unsure of her place now. It makes me a little sad.  Macy has treated the foster well, but is withdrawn.  I do my best to reassure her.

The foster will find a wonderful forever home in a few weeks...already too many applications to count.  Macy will be the queen bee soon enough.  But this minor blip in our routine reminds me of how long it takes some of our babies to adjust to "safe and loved forever."  She's not there yet.  She'll soon come to know that my house is her house...and my heart is hers forever and ever.

Shaka Poses in His Super Hero Costume

New Available BRATs: Luke, Buddy, Bebe

Name: Luke
State: Texas
DOB: 11/23/2001
Gender: Male
Color: Red and white
Weight: 19

Luke is a sweet, gentle, easy-going Basenji looking for a peaceful home with a calm environment to live out his golden years.  He is laid back, relaxed, and non-destructive when uncrated. He gets along with other dogs and cats and would enjoy a companion that has the same temperament to lay around with. People are his favorite companions.

Click HERE to find out more about Luke!

Name: Buddy
State: Texas
DOB: 12/11/2003
Gender: Male
Color: Tricolor
Weight: 29

Buddy is a mellow, affectionate, house-trained, walks great on leash, and most comfortable relaxing at home and keeping you company. He has no need for a big yard, as he prefers short walks and then returning indoors to hang out.

Click HERE to find out more about Buddy! 

Name: Bebe
State: Louisiana
DOB: 2/20/2012
Gender: Female
Color: Red and white
Weight: 23

Bebe is a young, energetic pup with a long list of experiences! She has been in multiple homes, including a stint in the shelter, and has even had a litter of puppies. She assimilates well into a home environment, and gets along with other dogs and even cats. She is still learning how to focus her youthful energy, and would do best with a family that can commit to training her in a safe, stable environment. 

Click HERE to find out more about Bebe! 

Check out the listing of available Basenji rescues on the main BRAT page for your chance to hit the Basenji adoption jackpot!

The Monster Mash!

Anubis, the spooky 1-year-old Basenji, shows off some of her favorite tricks. Filmed for Crufts Factor 2013.

Follow Anubis on Facebook!  
https://www.facebook.com/AnubisTheBarklessDog

The Missing Water Bowl, Continued

Last month I wrote about the day that my two crafty basenjis hid their water bowl in the backyard while I was out a work (http://basenjirescue.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-case-of-missing-water-bowl.html).  While they haven't been crafty enough since then to completely hide their bowl from me (and I have the benefit of knowing their hiding places now... heh heh heh), since that first time, they've been bringing their water bowl out into the backyard EVERY SINGLE DAY! 

Every day now when I come home from work, I find a huge puddle of water on the kitchen floor -which is single-sheet vinyl, thankfully, so it doesn't seep through- and no water bowl where it should be.  It used to sometimes be elsewhere in the house, but not anymore.  It seems that my two mischievous pups have discovered that they quite enjoy bringing their bowl outside, and every day I find it partially hidden in one or another corner of the backyard. 

The thing is, I just can't figure out why on earth they do this.  I know that they're bored during these cold winter days, when there's not much going on outside and not much sunshine to lay in.  They've also gotten more destructive in the house (as my two recently shredded living room curtains can attest), which unfortunately has led me to have to gate off areas of the house that were previously open to the pups during the day.  But even still, boredom doesn't necessarily lead one to need to drag a heavy ceramic water bowl outside and hide it in a corner of the yard every day, does it??? Maybe in dog logic this makes sense, but I just can't figure it out.  Does anyone have dogs that also do this, or know why they would?  I'm completely flabbergasted here. 

Surviving Winter

Ivan and Dasa are not rugged outdoorsy types. They take after me in their belief that hardship is not something to embrace, but rather to avoid, preferably while wearing a warm sweater and snuggled under a blanket. With apologies to dogs and their people who live in really cold places that have been buried under feet of snow, Ivan and Dasa are pretty sure they have experienced enough winter, and should be awarded a medal or at least a scout badge for surviving last week when we had a storm that began with ice, followed by snow, and finished with a shiny glaze of freezing rain. Since part of my mission in life is to make Ivan and Dasa as happy as possible, I got out my shovel, broke through the icy coating, and cleared swatches of yard so they had grassy spots.  Dasa, my little angel, was perfectly fine with her spot by the patio.

                          This is good Mom, thanks.

Ivan had different requirements. I shoveled paths to trees, although they were always the wrong trees. I shoveled a path to the back corner of the yard, his preferred spot.

 

I had to keep enlarging this patch of grass, because it was never quite satisfactory and my poor boy kept venturing out on the hard slippery white stuff. 

 

 He looked aghast as his feet slid, and let me know he could not possibly pee on this. I’m pretty sure Ivan expected me to shovel the entire back yard. Fortunately, that snow melted, but there's more on the way. I’d better keep my shovel handy.