Archive for September 8th, 2009

Kalypso says Hi

As you may have noticed from a few pictures posted here on FW Renaissance, we have a set of somewhat distinctive-looking dogs. Three of them, in fact. We are fairly humble people here at the house of FWR, we make our own pizza and drive cars that side of ten years old. But, we do have purebred dogs. One of them, in our defense, was a rescue, from a man who was going back to work and couldn’t take as careful care of BT, who is now the resident senior “jackal” in the house.

Before we obtained the three we have now, we had a different pair of them, the first a christmas present for myself when I was nine years old. We were attracted to the breed because my stepfather had hyperacusis – extremely sensitive ears – and we discovered the Basenji doesn’t bark (if only we had known all the other sounds they make). Nor did they shed, they were very pretty, and, as we would learn, have personalities – in fact, they are characters. So, we got Achilles, a small red and white puppy with a curly tail, soft fur, and, we would learn, a penchant for biting (he never bit me…just everyone else in the house). We very quickly learned some things about Basenjis:

BT made himself a bed.

• “Difficult to train” is an understatement. In fact, it’s a misstatement. The Basenji is a very intelligent dog (too intelligent for their own good, often: for example, they are little Houdinis, who often get out into the street). But, like cats, they decide if and when they are going to obey. You can tell them “come.” They will understand. But they will only obey if it fits in with their plans.
• The Basenji puppy likes to chew. No, wait. He likes to destroy. In Achilles’ career as a pup, he destroyed a set of knives, several handmade pillows, a variety of blankets, every Playmobil guy we had – you get the idea. Circe, the female we got for my older sister three years after Achilles, came with a worse penchant she never outgrew: underwear.
• The Basenji cannot bark. But, lock them in a crate and they will howl. Scream. Cry. Whine. Crow. The sounds that come out of those voiceboxes will amaze – in fact, once the police got called to our house because the neighbor thought a woman had been screaming. Nope, just the dog.
• The Basenji, as mentioned, is an escape artist. Coming from a long line of hunters in the jungle, they don’t take well to confinement. They will chew, dig, bite, and scratch their way out – or, my favorite: climb. Many Basenjis are experts at climbing chain link fences – climbing over, in fact.
• The Basenji is very keen on his food. This, combined with the tendency against formal training and correction, turns him into a kind of conniving vulture, ready to strike at any moment when you aren’t looking. The victim? The butter dish. A tuna sandwich you were about to eat. Anything within reach they think they can get before you get to them.
• Thankfully, the Basenji is like a garbage disposal. I will not make any claims as to the health of them eating these things, or recommend it at all, I still think it’s dangerous, but for the sake of entertainment, the dogs have eaten:

A half pound of chocolate fudge

Two whole semi-frozen chicken carcasses (among other chicken related items)

three pairs of ladies underwear (one sitting)

a half a pound of chocolate truffles

significant portions of couch stuffing

half of a handmade pillow

also, they will steal and then fight over:

salad

carrots

various bits of fruit

Briseis gets a scratch

So, you ask, why on earth do we keep these hellions around? They aren’t trained, they steal, escape…well, for one thing, we are a little attracted to chaos, and having a Basenji is guaranteed to raise the chaos factor. But, the best reason is what characters they are. They have very strong personalities. They are very loyal. They yodel happily when you come home in the evening. They have the curliest tails around. They look like egyptian pharoh dogs. They are hypoallergenic. They are the cleanest inside dogs ever. They have expressive eyebrows. Their quirks will keep you laughing all day. And, they are  the most beautiful dogs on the block.