An American Basenji in England

More than three years ago, a basenji breeder lost her home and had to move 20 basenjis into a trailer. She called BRAT and asked for help in finding good homes for her dogs. Recently, Mike Swan ran into the breeder's daughter at the local dog park, who asked how the basenjis were doing. Here is an update on one of them:

Dear Mike,

It's nice to hear from you. Butterfly (we call her Violet, full name - Violet Butterfly Dennis) is doing very well. She is a beautiful, energetic, sweet-natured, very vocal basenji! We couldn't be happier with her. She really is the best basenji we have ever had, and she is our fourth. I am sure we will always be basenji fans, but I think it would be hard to find a better dog.

Since adopting Violet, there have been many changes in our lives. She had a basenji brother, Ramsey, who passed away in December, 2007. While I think she misses him, she really does enjoy being an "only dog." In 2008, we were presented with the opportunity to move to England for a two to three year period. We had Violet internationally micro-chipped and she went through the "cooking process" involved with moving a pet in to the United Kingdom. She arrived in October last year and has found England to be a grand place to live. The British love their dogs and Violet has become quite social on her daily walks in the park. She has a group of "friends" she meets up with every day. She seems to like other dogs, but does not have much tolerance for puppies or cats!

Since moving here, Violet has become accustomed to going to pubs and cafes that allow dogs. I have attached two photos of a visit to one of our favorites, The Ragged Cot in Minchinhampton in the Cotswalds.

I have also attached a photo of her looking out our front window in true basenji-style!

If you see the breeder's daughter again, tell her that Butterfly is a very happy, very healthy and very loved member of our family. We are so happy with our BRAT experience that I don't think we will ever have any other dog than a rescue dog again. Thank you for the work that you all do and for giving us such a treasured member of our family.

With Much Regard,
Jason, Linda & Jade Dennis (Violet's forever family)