The Rip Van Wrinkler,
Volume XX, Issue 4, November 2016

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Our senior basenjis, page two. . .

A look back to The November Wrinkler, 2001.

Age is a matter of feeling, not of years. ~ George William Curtis

Didi (Bunno’s Rhapsody in Red, born January 19, 1990 (Apu Ziggy of Soho X Apu Alua J. Montana) - Janet Barry, Mastic, NY

What can we say about our  beautiful girl?  It is hard to stop us once we begin ! She is angel soft, and loves a loving! She loves her boy (Kevin) and insists on being with him at all times. No matter how rotten her own son is to her, (Dash) she sweetly licks his ears for him. She presented us with a beautiful litter of pups on Christmas Day!!!

Was it 11 years ago that we picked her up from Mona’s?

She used to drive me crazy because she would peel my slippers off my feet while I sat at the breakfast table! Now she is like a hot -water bottle always on a lap!  She can still give a squirrel a good chase. 

She can say “Out” as clear as a bell when she wants to go!

WE ADORE OUR BEAUTIFUL GIRL!!!! X O X O X!!!!!! 


Seven (Ch. Sonbar’s Celestial Reflector), born November 28, 1985 (Ch. Sonbar’s Celestial Draco X Ch. Sonbar’s Bicarbonate) - John Siverson, Minneapolis, MN

Seven came to us when I thought my “old Basenji” Mr. Boomer was not expected to live very long due to his Cushings disease. He lasted for 4 years after that due to Seven’s being here and giving him someone to worry and care about.

Seven was 8 years old when she came to live with us: her human parents had both died and she had been bounced around to several families. After Mr. Boomer died Seven was in a funk, as she was when she came to us and I “talked” to her and “listened” too. We decided to adopt another Basenji boy who she allowed to be in her house.

I think the thing that is most impressive about her is how resilient she is.  

From the beginning, she was an animal that would go with her humans in whatever folly they were involved with. She was sold to a pet home and was taken out to shows by many people and many of them still think she is a pretty special gal and finished too. She had to leave her first family and adjust to their loss and fit in with Mr. Boomer and all. She has survived four years with chronic hepatitis.  She allowed Foxy Lady to come and live with us and two years later, Foxy’s pup Baby.

Life isn’t perfect. She gets acupuncture every other week and has to endure pills and herbs being given to her, but she with stands it all and can still smile. She prefers the basement to stay out of the way of the younger folks, but if you want to see her just open a can of tuna or eat some corned beef and she will be right up. She has a slight head tilt that we think was caused by a small stroke two years ago, so she looks like the RCA dog sometimes.  When people see her that have known her all her life they say “oh Seven, you look so wonderful” and get down on their hands and knees to greet her. So, I know I am not the only one who know where the true gold in life lies…J

This fall we plan to have a sweet sixteen party for her and I can’t wait.


Cookie (Fanfare Take The Money & Run), born October 8, 1987~ Sam Anderson, Bellingham, WA

(AKC/CKC show pointed and we lost the 23pts she needed  for her CkC FCh because I didn't get her CKC  number in time).

Cooky is from Melody Russell and she has been well loved and pampered. She is still the boss and is my bestest  friend. One awesome girl who is still fabulous looking. Her children are Tutsi, Tori, Trucker, Ernie, Dexter who will be 9yrs old in Dec. AND Riley, Pickles, Kimmy (Riley & Kimmy were the set of 2 pups "together" used in the 1995 BCOA trophy artwork), Buck, and Joey (who died from "truck"). They will  be 11yrs old in December.  All hale and healthy (except Joey). She has kids who have earned 3 JC's, 3 CanFCh's,  1 AKC champ, 3 CanCh, 1 JOR (NOTRA), and 1 Int'l  Ch (UCI). Cooky started lure coursing at age 6yrs  and "retired" at age 12yrs.

My dogs say that older is wiser, and being deemed a senior is just a relative thing. I think they would be "old" when they actually acted old and that's one thing I can't see any of them being for quite some time.


Riley Am/Can Ch Karosel's Money To Burn, born December, 1990 ~ Sam Anderson

Riley is doing oval racing on and off, is a wonderful sweet snuggler, & is the most masculine Basenji I have ever met. What a doll baby. He is the daddy to my  Kewpy, Abbey in Germany, Spryte in Mass, Button in  Alaska, Xena in Montesano Wa, and Saga in Olympia Wa. They will be 3 in December. He is also daddy to Risky in BC Canada (brindle), Amtrak in Eastern Canada (brindle), and 3 red children in Calif. They will be 7yrs this year. As a side note, Amtrak was the 1st brindle Canadian Field Champ and brindle BIF winner in Canada. So far his kids have titles in 2 countries (Canada & Germany).


Josephine (Apu Josephine Montana), born 1987 (Ch. Apu Blooming’ Solo Flyer X Apu Aula J. Montana) - Mona Etienne, NYC

Josephine is living with her forever mom, Mona, right off of Central Park West, in NYC, and still goes to walk in the park.


Tuffy (Ch. Bushbabies Tough Act to Follow), born September 8, 1989 (Ch. Zuri’s Ruka X Princess Quina El-Arish) - Michael Anderson, Cleveland, OH

Tuffy was a rehome for me in 1997 at the age of 8 years.  I knew within the first 24 hours after I picked the Tuff dog up that there was no way he would be going back.  He remains a champion as a companion & his 12th birthday was celebrated with a hamburger and a very long walk in the park.  He is a constant source of joy for me, my beautiful red boy Tuffy.


Dotti (Mata Hauri Hemlock Hollow SOS, born December 9, 1987 (Ch. Reveille Goodwill X Ch. Mata Hauri Hemlock Hollow Kyr) - Suzanne Schulz, Fultonville, NY

My Dear Old Friend. Hopefully, we have all been lucky enough to share our life with a dear, old friend.  This would be the friend that you grew up with and planned your future with. The friend that would be a part of your life forever. Anne was that special friend for me. 

We shared our dreams for the future together.  When we were young, we planned our weddings to be held together.  We would live happily ever after on a horse ranch that our husbands would run.  She is the friend that is in most of my childhood memories.  When I look back at the photographs in my heart of my youth, Anne is in them all.  Life took an unexpected turn, and Anne is now only in my memories. 

Happy memories that I still recall that bring smiles to my face, and sometimes tears to my eyes.

Living with an older dog brings on much of the same feelings for me. Dotti is my 13-year young basenji.  She is my friend, my dear, old friend. She shares many of my memories of Anne. She has gone through most of my life changes with me - moving away from my childhood home, meeting Bob and Bobby, reuniting with my dad and meeting my wonderful step-family, saying good-bye to my first basenji, Tyler and our Aussie, Ranger, winning the fight against Bobby's life threatening illness, losing the fight against Anne's, getting married, saying good-bye to my mom and step-mom, meeting new friends that are dear to me, and welcoming Cubby and Hooch into our lives. Dotti is my dear friend. 

When the time comes, I will miss her as I miss Anne.  I will think of her whenever I think back or whenever I cuddle with my dogs.  Happy memories that I will recall that will bring smiles to my face, and sometimes tears to my eyes.

But today, I embrace her, hug her, kiss her. My heart warms as I see her enjoying life.  Life that is made sweeter by sharing it with a friend, a dear, old friend.


Reno Bambino Sutton, born January 1, 1992 ~ Peggy Pick Sutton, Niceville, FL

Here's a little bit about our baby.  I get very emotional when I think of Reno as aging, so this was a little difficult for me to write. We don't think of Reno as a senior because he certainly doesn't act like one. Yet, Reno Bambino will be ten on January 1, 2002. How can that be? 

How did we get from adopting our sweet boy two weeks before his second birthday to a date nearly eight years later?  It seems no longer than a month or two at most. Reno is still our sweet baby.

He’s mischievous, and full of energy and impish charm that melts our hearts. He races madly around the house and dashes out the back door after squirrels. When we adopted him, he was quite hyper and more likely to chew shoes, socks, remotes, towels, books, and magazines. This tendency slowly decreased, and we went through fewer wolf-sized rawhides as he gradually became more relaxed and more sure of us.  We also learned to become more creative about keeping chewables from Reno’s reach. Reno has grown to trust and love us while we have learned to read his mood, his body language, and a host of subtle signals and communications that we probably don't even realize occur each day. And, of course, our initial infatuation with that sweet wrinkly face has long since blossomed into utter devotion.

Reno is the delight of our hearts and the joy of our lives. All of his mannerisms and personality traits are precious to us. We spend each day in amazement and gratitude that this amazing creature, this cute, smart, funny, lovable, elegant, trusting, impish, adorable little creature is part of our family. We don't have photos of Reno as a puppy since we adopted him when he was nearly two. We covet those first two years that we didn't get to share with him.  We are aware, too aware, that we can't keep him forever, but if love could accomplish such a thing, he'd be eternally young.  I think it’s best that we didn't know when we took his leash and led him to our car on that night in December 1993 that he would take over our hearts and fill our lives with such joy.  I don't think we could've understood what looking into that little face would mean.  By the time we knew what a gift Reno was, it was too late.  There’s no doubt in Reno’s mind that we belong to him. And he’s right. Our hearts are on the end of that leash & we'll never get them back.


Seniors in Red Hook - Jacquie Cookingham, Red Hook, NY

Jacquie’s wonderful Ashley, Puck and Beauty


Goober, born October 13, 1992 - Don Blackman, Saugerties, NY


Lucky - Ruth Piwonka, Kinderhook, NY

He was born on December 18, 1988, but did not arrive at my house until November 1997.  His owner had to give him up when he moved from a house into an apartment.  I always felt that it was hard for Lucky to make this move so late in his life. 

Before I actually got Lucky, his owner told me that Lucky didn't know any other dogs, and he had no idea how he would get along with them.  I gulped -- but I need not have.  Lucky has loved all the dogs here and has learned to play and enjoy his canine companions.  He is so dignified and gentlemanly.  He has some arthritis and feels it more in the winter.  A couple of years ago, when this developed, our vet thought it worth checking him for Lyme disease since he had come from Rhode Island.  Sure enough, he tested positive, was treated, & showed improvement; but of course, while the Lyme is gone, the arthritis isn't. 


Lily - Ruth Piwonka, Kinderhook, NY
Lily & Lucky

In 1992, when I got Lily at the Columbia Greene Humane Society, she was said to be 'about three years old'.  Assuming that is about correct, she would likely have been born in the Fall or Winter of 1988 or early in 1989.   She is apparently "about the same age as Lucky".  

About 1997 in May, Lily was lost in the woods for almost three weeks – and came home at last fine except for a ruptured cruciate ligament, which was repaired.  Now it seems as though this is bothering her again, though it hasn't ruptured again.  In any case, like Lucky, she has shown signs of stiffness and slowing down.

Both love to lay in the sunshine and to walk and run at the farm. 

They don't run so fast any more -- but they are still very happy to do it.  On walks however, they trot along at a very respectable pace and no one believes how old they are.  At this point in time, their general health is good and they are content with life.  Even so, Lily has quite a bit of greying and Lucky has some -- so when I look closely at them, I can see where all this is going. 


Tia (CH No Ka Oiís Alea Hoku Tia), born 12/28/91 (Ch. Khamsin Bound for Botany Bay X No Ka Oi's Ekahi's Ti-Dutchess Alea) - Karen Luke, Oahu, HI

Tia is my first Basenji. She was supposed to be the small lap dog I would take into quiet retirement and a sedentary way of life. Instead, she has rejuvenated me. She is a dog of dogs, prone to the call of nature. 

She wants nothing to do with my lap and cares less for my voice. In the first year of her life, she learned to respond to “CUT IT OUT.”  In her second and succeeding years, I learned to enjoy nature and long walks in the pineapple fields. Tia will come when you call PACK UP and she’ll follow when you command THIS WAY. She is not leash trained and has no intention to be. She is the alpha female and guides her little pack with the spunk and attitude befitting a great hunter from Africa. 

She leads her pack safely through packs of large hunting dogs, runs circles around working dogs encountered in the fields, and brings down piglets and mongoose. With the exception of family, and I have the great fortune of having a supportive family who provides a secure and understanding environment for my Terrible Tia, she will bite anyone, anytime they get close enough, and without remorse. Tia the Terrible will be 10 years old in December, a double-digit midget.  I understand Basenjis will slow down between 8-10 years of age, but I don’t look forward to that day. She has so much more to teach me.


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