More from Florida

Greetings from the Basenjiville warden!

Time marches rapidly on and the b kids are growing like weeds. The Sassy Seven (Koka's pups) are just about ready to move out of their half-way house (they are about 10 weeks old and have, for the most part, recovered from spay/neuter surgeries), as are the Fab Four (Kenyatta's legacy). They all have been enjoying the benefits of socialization with the facility staff and visitors, with their siblings, with older pups, with moms, and with the facility overseers (Chloe, Scooter and Benz), when they choose to come down off their thrones. This past weekend, with very little last-moment notice, they had a socialization opportunity of a lifetime. They attended an adoption expo at the Tampa fairgrounds. They were a huge hit, drawing a large crowd, providing us with a wonderful opportunity to educate the public regarding basenjis. They had lots of handling and had no problem dealing with the large, loud, strange environment - and spent a lot of time sleeping. Anne MacMillan, Jacquie Hall, and I staffed our very simple booth. We all did our best to explain that basenjis were not calm, quiet and easy, despite the deceptive appearance of the darling little puppies. Everyone was referred to our website for the adoption process. Little Panda, along with foster siblings Guppy, McKenzie, and hostess Chloe, made their TV debut.

Keondra's pups have finally moved over the hump and have hit a growth spurt. The largest of her litter is now getting so close in size to the smallest of Koka's (who are at least two weeks older) that I have to look twice to be sure of who it is. The litter has a broad range in sizes, though, so there are a couple of cute little runts that stand out nicely. One of Keondra's pups, Don Juan, set himself apart from the crowd by mounting a much bigger Koka baby, Carmine, when Don Juan was barely 4 weeks old. We will keep a close eye on him and make sure that his adopter is well-equipped to be the leader...

All puppies, including Keondra's, can make it through the night without soiling their crates, though the younger crowd may have the occasional poopy accident and the older crowd may have an occasional leak if I'm not fast enough to respond to their cries to go out (it does seem as if they drink gallons and gallons all day - if they do have to leak, they will often create a small pond... It does take a while to escort 20 puppies out to the backyard). They are also a bit rambunctious when they come in at night. Like many small children, they seem to wind up faster and faster, working themselves into a frenzy, until they collapse into a peaceful, deep sleep. Their crates are often made wet by the splashing that results from wrestling matches that track through their water dishes - good, clean fun.

While the puppies have obviously taken time from what I had been expected to be available for the adults (plans made back when three litters were not even a possibility...), the adults have still been making progress. They may still make a bit of commotion when visitors come, but will quickly calm down and come out of their pens to play. Enough time has passed that I've finally been brave enough to turn the adult males out together - now everyone can get out to play for the entire playtime. The males do need to be closely supervised, but respond very well to a simple throat-clearing. I switch their "rooms" on a regular basis to keep things interesting.

Ali seems to be an "average" kind of guy, though he is quite tall and lanky. He plays well with others, but is content to hang out. He doesn't seem to need to run the show, but does get his feathers ruffled a bit by the other males. He doesn't challenge his boundaries and follows directions without being too sensitive. I have to remind myself that he is one of the wild pack because he has such a "normal" expression. He will approach most people for treats, but may shy away if he gets scared.

Mosi is a bit more reserved. He will play well with his pals, but maytake awhile to warm up to strangers, even for a treat. Some days, he is a bit more bold. He is a cute boy and is probably the shortest ofthe three remaining males. He has been very patient while waiting for his turn to play. He was the best at going to his room with minimal direction, though most of the others are catching up.

Adina (whose name I've inadvertently switched with Fana) has been making great progress. She regularly gives me play invitations, approaches us for treats and does well with the whole pack, a big change from her fear-aggressive appearance when she first arrived. She is still quite shy with strangers, but her future is looking brighter every day. I am relieved to see how she has been improving.

Several of the adult/older puppy b's are ready to move onto the next phase in their life - introduction to the leash and house. They will soon be ready to move to other special foster homes when they become available. They are much more tame than they were a couple of months ago, but they will still need foster homes that are prepared for the wild side...

As time passes, the routine requires change. Puppies need more attention and bigger space (and make more poo...). The adult runs will also need to be moved. They are ready for more space and will need more airflow now that we are moving into the summer months in FL (the original set-up provided them more protection from the wind during our unusually cold winter). Hopefully, I will be able to set up a schedule to allow help from those that have offered - so much has been last-minute due to constantly changing needs. It will be much easier to accommodate drop-in help when they are in a larger area.

Margaret, Anne, B.Ann, and Debbi have been doing a wonderful job of attending to many details of coordinating that I simply don't have time to do right now - home visits, vet reference checks, and placement suggestions all lined up so that I can just say yea or nay. Thanks to their efforts and many other volunteers who are doing the home visits, we have placed 8 of the first 9 younger pups, 3 of the 5 five month old pups, and one adult. JR has taken on Aisha, a b mom who has been going through culture shock in DC. We will be posting pups from the next litters shortly. Given that there are so many pups andso many homes that have been waiting for pups, the first batch was placed without posting to relieve demands on my time. Though the pups are remarkably well-balanced and similar (adopters have commented onhow cuddly they are!), they do show personality differences. Placement decisions are still based on who fits each pup's needs. If you are interested in a pup and haven't already done so, please submit your application now by following the appropriate link. You can express interest in a specific pup when they are posted, but early apps allow us to be better prepared by getting home visits done early.

As always, I greatly appreciate everyone's support.

Pam Hamilton
FL District Coordinator
Advisory Director
Basenji Rescue and Transport

A note from Debbi Johnson:

If you are interested in adopting one of these basenjis, please submit an adoption application with BRAT. You will be added to an email list which gives notices of available basenjis. Before long, this group from Florida will be listed for adoption. BRAT strives to select the best home for each basenji we have in rescue. If you are interested in fostering, please stay tuned for another update coming to you soon. Each basenji that has left the group has gone home in a crate provided by BCOA. Thanks again to the members of BCOA!

So far, basenjis from this group have traveled to new homes in Washington DC, VA, IN, AL, CA, and some have stayed in FL. Plans have been made for others to go to CT, NJ, KY, GA, LA, and NY.

We appreciate your interest and support in the rescue of the Wimauma basenjis.

Debbi Johnson
BRAT Treasurer & Director
Germantown, TN
brat-help@lists.basenjirescue.org