SM: I agree with Penelope; the dogs are not square. There is a rectangular space under them. Also, they have ewe necks and lack of chest room, showing in poor underlines. Sad when judges ask me why my dogs have wrinkles. “Is she still a puppy?” Dark eyes would be nice, too. I’d like the Basenji community to not demean the dis- position of the breed. They can learn. They like to learn. They can know sit and show in the breed ring without sitting. They are not stubborn monsters. At a recent rally trial, the show chair commented how flabbergasted she was that I entered a Basenji in Obedience. The judges car- ried on in the same fashion. It was the same recently on LI, when I was greeted with, “You’re not going to expect that breed to even jump one jump, are you?” At the Rally show I dealt with it by winning a second in advanced in the morning, then a first in the afternoon. This is most unfortunate when Basenji people act this way. 5. The biggest problem facing you as a breeder? BB: For me personally, it is lack of time and money. When I think of what could be done with unlimited time and unlimited funds; it makes my brain hurt. SB: So many dogs, so little time! BC: The lack of interest in animals in general. Children today are much more interested in sports and electronics. Animals are “work” and busy families are choosing hob- bies that don’t require food and care. SM: Life is too short. 6. For a bit of humor. what’s the funniest thing that you ever experienced at a dog show? BB: My Jolly and I were at an outdoor Agility Trial on a hot summer day. We were running in the Excellent JWW class and were clean about halfway through. We had a right-hand tunnel to a right-hand jump, cross in front to a left-hand jump. I executed the cross in front, (beautifully I might add) looked to the jump for position, then looked back to Jolly. No Jolly! He was not there! I started spin- ning in circles looking for Jolly! Jolly was halfway across the ring chasing a yellow butterfly! Jolly always had the ability to make me laugh. This time spectators, judge and fellow exhibitors all joined in. We did not get a qualifying score but, I got something more valuable; a happy, funny memory of my Jolly that will be with me forever. It has been over 12 years and people still come up to me and mention the time Jolly chased the butterfly in the Excel- lent JWW Class. SB: There was the provisional assignment where the ring came complete with many, many gopher holes and for occasional highlights, live gophers would pop up!
BC: There was that time the squirrel ran down the tree and targeted one particular exhibitor out of the group. It didn’t end well for the exhibitor. LC: At one show my brain left the building and I forgot about Reserve Bitch. I put my bitch back in a crate which, due to limited space was across the room from the ring. When I heard the steward calling my number I realized the mistake, ran back to the crate, frantically tried to get a lead on my girl but, my hands were trembling so much that I got the lead caught around my neck. While untan- gling the lead, it popped open the first two buttons on my dress. As the judge was getting more impatient, I was getting clumsier and as I stood up from kneeling to get my girl, I heard my shoe catch on the back of my dress ripping open three buttons on the bottom of said dress. Brainlessly, I charged across the arena and into the ring with my dress flapping around me. Mortifying! We did not get Reserve Bitch. SM: A lot of charming, funny stories when I showed my BISS, Brace. One day in the rain, with judge Anna K. Nicholas, they leapt over a puddle in tandem and each lifted the opposing paw. JR: In the late 1960s, I watched my Basenji walk up to a judge in the ring, hike his leg and pee on her leg. The judge slowly dropped her gaze to the offending stream of liquid and said, “Well, I guess I know what he thinks of me!”. VP: This happened quite a few years ago. I arrived at an all-breed show in Cleveland early in December. I parked next to a car that had a dead deer sprawled across its windshield. Knowing how ring times do not wait, the owner must have thought, “I can still see the road, I must get to the show. I must get inside, I must get to my ring!” The car was gone when I came out. I’ll never know who it was. “WE DID NOT GET A QUALIFYING SCORE BUT, I GOT SOMETHING MORE VALUABLE; A HAPPY, FUNNY MEMORY OF MY JOLLY THAT WILL BE WITH ME FOREVER.”
S how S ight M agazine , J uly 2017 • 231
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