About Me

My family had cats when I was growing up. There was Billy, then Buttons, and lastly Zippers. Unfortunately, I developed an allergic reaction to cats in my late teens. When I moved into a Condo I began looking for a dog. I wanted something not too large or noisy. The Basenji seemed to fit what I was looking for and they were also described as cat like. I adopted "Cirrus" through rescue. He was two years old. During that time I become a member of the Evergreen Basenji Club and longtime breeder Melody Russell became my mentor. Later that year I received a call about an adult female Basenji needing a temporary home. I had room for another dog and was willing to foster her. I decided to keep her after she bonded to me after only a few days and renamed her "Ruby".
Ruby was only three generations out of Africa and was descended from the Avongara line of recently imported Basenjis from Africa. I became interested in her background and in other Basenji imports from the past. I became involved with the BCOA African Stock Project and helped get it on the web. In 2005 I moved into a house, making it possible for me to have two more dogs. In February and March of 2006 I traveled in Cameroon with Brenda Jones-Greenberg to see the aboriginal dogs and we brought back seven dogs. Three came home with me. I kept two and one went to another home. I have been back to Africa twice looking for native dogs. In 2010 I went with local Basenji breeder, Bryan and Laurie Gregory, and Lisa Saban to the D.R. Congo. We acquired five dogs. The most recent trip to Africa was in 2015 to South Sudan. I went by myself and acquired two dogs. Unfortunately, one died in quarantine. Agility is one of the performance events that I have been involved in. My first dog I tried in competition was Cirrus. Although I never got a leg in any of the trails I entered with him, I enjoyed the challenge of running him and training. I am currently running Bengi and Kiri in agility. I also am involved in Lure Coursing and Barn Hunt.

About Basenjis

The Basenjis is a medium sized dog with short hair, erect ears and curly tail. Studies comparing dog DNA show that the Basenjis is an ancient breed. They live in villages in the tropical forest of western and central Africa. The African tropical forest does not have any wild canids living there and the dogs are very much dependent on the food available around human settlements. The dogs eat any garbage or scraps they find or are given to them. Some tribes eat their dogs. Most tribes use the dogs to hunt for game in the forest. Hunting bells are put around the neck or hind quarter of the dogs to help keep track of the dog and scare the game. The dogs go into forest and to find the game, flush it, and chase it toward the humans. Hunting methods vary. Some tribes string up nets in a semi-circle in the bushes and trees to trap the game the dogs flush out of the forest. Others tribes use spears or bows and arrows to kill the game flushed out by the dogs. Basenjis hunt without direction from humans. This makes them independent and self-reliant. Basenjis are registered with AKC as a sighthound, but they very much use their noses when hunting as well. Being an independent and self-reliant dog means that training can be more challenging. Lots of food keeps their interest. They learn quickly but can get bored with repetitive tasks. A bored Basenji left alone can get into things you would not want them to. Basenjis can be stand offish from strangers but very much attached to their family. Basenjis are not for everyone. To learn more about Basenjis see the BCOA College for Basenji Owners and the Basenji Breed Standard.

About Dibu

My kennel name Dibu (dee•boo) is a proto-western Bantu word for dog bell. The philosophy I follow in my breeding is to produce a balanced dog that has good health, temperament, structure, intelligence, and type which will make for a good performance and companion dog. I bring back new Basenji founders from Africa to introduce new genes into the Basenji gene pool. I cannot look back to the founder's ancestors to see trends in health. Therefore, I do health evaluation and testing that are required for registering new founders and recommend for the Breed. See list on the CHIC site. To ensure proper socialization with their litter-mates and humans I will not let puppies go home until their tenth week. I will evaluate the puppies temperaments and match them with their new family. When you adopt a puppy or adult from my kennel I want to be your source of information and support for the lifetime of your Basenji. If for any reason a puppy or adult acquired from my kennel cannot be kept by their family, then I will either assist with re-homing or accept them back to be re-homed.