Volume XIV, Issue 2, May, 2010
Pages 10 & 11
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Remember this?
Little did I know how much my life would change after the trip to DR Congo to look for Basenjis. We came back to Sweden totally exhausted and also without the dogs. The Basenjis went to USA and for us started the long, but exciting, wait for our Congolese Princess Gali to come to Finland and then to Sweden.
Gali and her friend, the tri boy Asuma, stayed with Gail and Gary Dzuleski in their “Basenji Park” and they had a ball with all their Basenjis. 
They had to go through all the health requirements to be allowed to enter Europe but finally I took the plane from Stockholm to Helsinki. Helena Myyryläinen and Päivi Salomaäki, Furahan Basenjis, were there to meet me and we were eagerly waiting for the release of the two puppies. Finally the crate came out and a little red girl did see me and she went totally nuts when let out of the crate, together with Asuma of course. It was a fantastic feeling to see them again. Now started the second leg of the journey for Gali. Asuma, or “Samuel”, was home. He is living with Helena and her two Basenji boys Nelson and Ali. Gali stayed with them to “prepare” herself, due to import regulations, to come “home”!
Finally it was time to go and meet her again and this time she was going to come with us to the island in the Åland archipelago, still in Finland. We had a meeting point by the Turku castle and all my Basenjis immediately said hi and that was that. They accepted her right away. The waiting was over and I can’t thank Gail and Gary and Helena enough for their help and engagement in the new Africans. Without them this would have not been possible to do for me. BIG BIG THANK YOU!! You are the best!
A new challenge started! On her way everybody said; “Mia, you are in for a challenge!” I didn’t know what they were talking about, but now I know! She has the most fantastic temperament, so cool, still so sensitive, learns very fast and most of the time she is ahead of me. So curious and explores everything and the question “Where is Gali?” was the question of summer 2008! She was everywhere, in the water, in the woods, chasing the birds, encountered racoon dogs, wasps, stole the fishes for us but oh my so obedient and really wanted to please. But snakes, she just jumps back several meters. Even a stick on the path can be a snake and she jumps.
When up in the mountains the first summer she just watched and followed the other dogs. It was so interesting how she observed and learned. But suddenly she found lemmings and easily killed them and came very proud to us to show “dinner is served”!
Her energy level is much higher than my other Basenjis, she is always on the go to learn, explore and watch and so on. True survivor instincts! It is also amazing to see how fantastic her body system works. She can eat anything without getting an upset stomach. Her stools are so small compared to my other Basenjis’; water is not wasted as well as the nourishment in the food.
During the summer of 2008 we had a lot of bonding to do. I had to realize we were her fourth family during such a short time. She came to us in Dungu, DR Congo, hanging on the handlebar of a bike, in a basket. She was 10-12 weeks old. We had her for 5 days there before she travelled to US together with all the other pups and she and Asuma stayed there before moving to Finland. The fact was; I was not her saviour! She learned to bond to different people, even though every time she met us she for sure recognized us. She is very independent and can take care of herself. She loves people and other dogs and loves to play.
But, I got some news about what she was doing. She had found some other dogs to play with, she stayed a while and played and then she found some other dogs to play with. She’s totally capable of taking care of herself. OK, she had to be taught to walk with us, so I arranged with some friend that we should walk together with our dogs and then I could practice with her to walk with us and play and then we walked away together and she had to follow, then we met again and she could play. Very soon she learned to follow her pack. I also restricted the area of the forest where she could run free. Soon our walks started to be very positive again and I also worked on making it fun her by hiding goodies, jumping on rocks and walking on fallen trees to practice balance skills as well as pure obedience exercises. I take them walking for almost one and a half hour every morning so she can let go of some energy!
She is a very intelligent dog and she trains ME very well. I think I am very obedient. At one point she started to scratch the wall and of course she is not allowed to do that. I tried different things but they worked only for 5´. I got very tired of this and I suddenly realize I had a bone in the freezer so I gave her that. Fine, she was calm for a while. Next time I did the same! Then I discovered that she scratched the wall, looked at the freezer and then looked at me to tell me “Give me that bone!” J She is very active and agile and she walks the windowsills like a cat and she sits there and watches the birds and all the people walking by. So what I have learned is that things in the window are pure luxury! She also jumps gates like a cat, so she's hard to keep in one place.
She must have had a very positive time with children in Congo because she just loves children. She can yodel at the sight of a child and many are the times when I have to explain to the parents “she is not growling, she is happy”! She really is one of the best yodellers I have had, she yodels to all and everything. She also has a very diverse and VERY clear body language!
She sure has made my life very active during this year, her first with us. She needs much more time than most of my more domesticated Basenjis. We can walk for an hour but she still needs more stimulation. If I am not giving her things to do she just walks around to find the things to do, good or bad. I can see how valuable an instinct like that is in Congo. Perhaps that’s why she survived the first hard 6-10 weeks when they are weaned. To always be on the move looking for food and water must be a great advantage.
She is also so good when home alone while I’m working but then… Her expectations when I am home are huge! So we did a lot. During the cold winter days it was hard since you can’t be out too long but we practised to do tricks and actually at the Basenji Club’s obedience competition she won the Tricks class! She also did very well in novice class and won that as well. I have big hopes for her in obedience; she is very alert and likes to work. She sees the advantage in everything, meaning food. J The only thing she has problem with is the down stay, she is so sensitive of what is going on around her so when she is down and something unusual is happening she wants to stand up and see for herself. So I really have to convince her that I take the responsibility for everything and she “trusts” me more and more. She is also lure coursing and does that really well. She has her licence and will start competing next year.
Now one year later, it is amazing to be back on the island and in the mountains to see how much she enjoys the freedom. Also to see how she has matured during the year. She stays much closer to the house even though she explores everything and is awake almost the whole day. Every now and then she comes home with her hunting trophies, which are of great mix!
We have discovered she also fishes! One day she came with a pike and one day with a perch. I was a little afraid to let her out by herself in mornings while I still was in bed but you can just imagine the feeling when looking out of the window and there she sits down by the water on a rock just enjoying the World wake up! What a picture! Up in the mountains she was always in the lead scouting, now it was the others that chose her ways instead of the opposite as last year.
Not one day passes without feeling very impressed with my survivor from the jungle. She has a solution to everything, nothing is impossible and I learn new things every day. One amazing thing she did one day was; she saw something in the water. It was too deep for her to take it. She did put her paw on it and pulled it back, then she backed herself, still with the paw on the thing, and then pulled again and then it was shallow enough for her to just put her nose in the water and take it. It was a dead fish! Yummy!
She also adapt to this life with an amazing speed. She shows me what a fantastic well-developed animal she is, she explores, hunts, kills as the most natural thing. She now really belongs to the pack and I guess she is the natural leader when the time comes.
I really believe now that she has chosen us to live with; we have proved ourselves to be a resource for her as well she for us. This year with her has certainly been a journey in itself!
This wouldn’t have been possible without the phone call from Jon Curby and the guidance and friendship of John Valk in Congo and I can’t thank them enough for making my dream come true.
P.S. She is now registered in the Swedish KC and she has been bred to our Yulara Jarrah and puppies are due any day now! Result, five pups, two boys and three girls!
