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From Tasmania to Queensland – Basenjis All the Way!

Oh my gosh!  We are only half way through October and this has most certainly been my busiest month of the year to date!!  There are probably three or four blogs-worth of stories to tell but as I am still recovering from a hectic few weeks, I will try to condense them down into one (or two, if I get photo-happy).

At the end of September we had our first official visitors from “the main land”, Chris’s dad, his partner and her son.  Along with Chris they planned a week-long hike through the wilderness, starting at beautiful Lake St. Clair and finishing up at Cradle Mountain (a journey more commonly known as the Overland Track).  Certainly not MY idea of fun but hey, what do I know.  It was a good opportunity to invite my mother down to stay for the week though, so the dogs and wouldn’t be home alone.  They were so excited when they saw their Grandma for the first time in over six months and I think Isabella showed Mum everything about the new house in about 20 seconds of crazed “Bichon Blitzing”!!  Levis and Rune had their bagels wiggling and were glad to find Grandma had bought them a good supply of dog treats as we

The Benson pack <3

 

 

When the time came for mum to return home, I had organised to go back to Queensland as well, to see my family and help out with some upcoming BBNA events that I was very excited for.

I should send out a big THANK YOU to the Benson family for letting me stay with them for a few nights, and to Taz for keeping me warm in bed at night so I wouldn’t get homesick.

 

 

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We spent our Saturday and Sunday at the Gold Coast Pet & Animal Expo, hosting the Basenji Breed Network Australia Ltd. stall and teaching people about our most wonderful breed.  On day one our stars were Hunter and Safari, who enjoyed lots of pats and compliments from passers by and really made our breed stall special.

The amount of people who had NEVER seen a Basenji before (and some had never heard of them) was surprising but all in all, I think the boys were admired by everyone.  What little stars they were.

 

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We even had an extra special appearance from the handsome Akua, our pure African Basenji boy whose softness and handsomeness is hard to beat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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But the weekend wasn’t over on Sunday night – oh no!  Monday was a public holiday and our chance to get along to the Dogs QLD All Dog Sports Spectacular to talk about the breed and also show them off on the “stage”.  A fabulous group of Basenjis turned up – Safari, Hunter, Lilly, Popstar, Leo, Rose, Samson & Delilah and little Inca.  How wonderful to meet them all and their owners, some of who I had only spoken to on Facebook!

Here are the girls lining up for Challenge Bitch.

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And here we have the gorgeous Safari, challenge dog and Best of Breed for the event.  He is also an excellent snuggler. 😉

 

THANK YOU to everyone who came to see us at the expo and DQ event, as well as all those who cared for me on my holiday.  You know who you are, hot chocolate makers and heat pack heater-up-er-ers!

Basenjis in Hobart – August 4, 2013

 

 

Time flies when you’re having fun, and we had such a great day in Hobart watching our friends the Palmer’s showing their Basenji pack.  Plus we got to meet a lot of other breeds and I even received a tiny smooch on the nose from a handsome Shiba Inu boy.  *swoon*  The weather had certainly improved from the last show we attended and I managed to take much better photos.  I think I will let these few do the talking…

Pretty Inka

This is beautiful little “Inka” who won Challenge Bitch for the day and Best Junior in Group.

Java showing in Best In Group

Java showing in Best In Group.

Java

Java on the run.  He took out Challenge Dog, Best of Breed and Australian-bred Best in Group on the day!!  Way to go JJ!!

Zuka wins Statebred BIG

Zuka wins State-bred Best in Group and Reserve Challenge Dog!

Ochre on the run.

Ochre on the run. She was the days Reserve Challenge Bitch after having a stellar previous day at the show.

Me & Zuka

Post-show snuggle time with Zuka & I.

Basenjis in Hobart – June 16, 2013

It had been a long time coming but on Saturday, June 16 we were finally able to make the trip to Hobart to meet Jenni and Richard Palmer of Langarni Basenjis and their gorgeous Basenji pack.  The weather sure wasn’t out to impress but fortunately for all of us (especially the Basenjis!), the show was held indoors where things were a little drier.

We were so happy to meet Jenni and family, who let us follow along their show journey for the day.  Dressed in snug handmade coats, each Tas-enji was a picture of the breed.  It had been a while since we had seen so many Basenjis in one place and it made me long for our wonderful playgroup friends back home in Queensland.

Being our first show “behind the scenes” we certainly learnt a lot!  Showing us how it is done were Olivia, Richard and Jenni’s daughter and five of their beautifully presented Basenjis.  Amongst the hustle and bustle of the busy arena, Olivia made it all look too easy.  But to make me feel a little better about my monsters at home, in true Basenji form there was one or two chewed show leads while the B’s waited their turn (though they were all still much better behaved than ours would be crated and surrounded by other dogs of all shapes and sizes).  

There was a really friendly atmosphere at the show and it was nice to talk to some of the other owners and learn more about different breeds.

 

 

Java was the star of the show for me…but maybe I am biased.  I like my Basenjis as cheeky as possible, and Java certainly has a lot of personality!!  Secretly, I fell for him the moment I saw him and can’t wait to meet Java (and his pack) again.  Java won Best of Breed for the day and can be seen here with the best hounds of the day.  

When the weather warms up towards the end of the year, hopefully we can follow the Langarni clan to another few shows.  Thanks Jenni and family for embracing us on Saturday and being so warm and friendly.

 

 

Ch Langarni African Aluko

Handsome Java, BOB for the show – very cheeky indeed! 🙂