This story is the first I came across in my search for BASENJI history. The book was called "Dogs on top" and published by av Sir Richard Glyn (president for Cruft's International Dog Show).

Translated to Norwgian by Jan Berggrav, Oslo 1967.
 


 

There are so many odd things about the Basenji that you could think it was a joke from the nature. In that case it's a persistent joke.

Nearly everything about the breed is unusual. First of all, it doesn't bark, even though it's not silent in any ways - they often show their happiness with a kind of mix of yodeling and a chuckle.

Second of all the Basenji cleans itself almost like a cat. The basenji is also very similar to a cat when they play. The pull their paw over their head, from the ear to the muzzle, over again until they get respons.

Another curious thing is that the bitches only come in season once a year.

The breed is relatively new in the Western world, but the Basenji have lived in Africa for many hundred years. They where used by the natives as hunting dogs.

A similar dog existed in Egypt B.C, but even so they arrived to Great Britain first in 1895. An European explorer brought them home from Africa and they where entered at the Crufts show as "Congo terriers".

Unfortuntaley they didin't survive the civilisations dog deseases and they all died. So did the following 6 Basenjis brought to Great Britain by Lady Helen Nutting in 1925.  Mrs.O.Burn had better luck when she brought some dogs in 1937, they adjusted, reproduced and they are the cornerstones of the breed as we know it today.

About the same time the breed where introduced in America, but that also failed at the first attempt. New imports where brought from Africa, Great Britain and Canada. The American Basenji Club where founded 1942 and they have contributed to the breeds popularity in the new world.