Toni-Baroni!!!

I love my little Toni! But Miss T. has been in a funk of a mood lately (too many cold + dreary days makes for a sad senji). So I thought I would cheer her up and do a photo shoot. But all she wanted to do was lean up against me + do a backwards basenji snuggle. So that meant I had to be in the shoot too. Ick, I can't hold a candle next to my little top model's super cuteness!!!

Christmas Cuties!

Mom? Why is this thing on my head?


Yeah, she stuck one on my head too...


Let me have a closer look to see how to get that thing off.


Calvin Claus!

So if I wear this, I'm gonna get more presents, right?

Hopped up on holiday "cheer"!

note: Happy slept thru all the holiday photos + fun. :(

Presents! Presents! Presents! Mine! Mine! Mine!

oh yeah, Merry Christmas... Now where are more PRESENTS!!!

(despite the fact that ALL the dogs received presents, Calvin was the only one interested in opening them...And he did...for ALL the dogs!!!)

My strange lil' senji girl

I PROMISE I did not photoshop this picture. I was washing the floors (see how they shine?) and decided to pile all the dogs blankies, pillows, and beds on the couch. Well, I no sooner turn my back to start mopping and when I turn around I see that my little Toni has silently crawled up into her dog bed that I precariously balanced on the edge of the couch. She seems quite distraught by the new "location" of her bed yet WILL NOT get out of it. What will I do with my strange lil' senji girl???

Happiness!!!

Today I got a really nice "present" from Rick Christensen of Sublime Basenjis in Colorado. He sent me some pics of my Happy (now 18 years old + 8 days!) back when she was a LOT younger. She sure was DROP DEAD GORGEOUS! Hell, even as an old lady with her gray hairs, bumps + lumps, and droopy tail she is still the most beautiful dog on Earth to me! :)

A Happy Fantastic Birthday!!!

Today is the 18th Birthday of my muse, business partner, and soul-mate Miss Happy Fantastic Basenji Extraordinaire! And yes, 18 is REALLY old for a dog, it is like 100 in human years. I love my Happy and I am thankful for each day she is with me! :)

Enjoy these Happy Fantastic Party Pics!

Yum!!! Ben & Jerry's with a peanut butter cup doggie pie from PupCat Bakery.

The Party Crashers!!!

mmm... it does go well with the chicken

Party pooper!

Strange Bedfellows

God, this breaks my heart! This was taken a few hours after Toni ate Happy's bed. Toni ripped up the foam insert and all that remained was the cover. I couldn't decide if I would just throw away the cover or try to re-use it so I left the cover on the floor next to the trash. Poor little Happy missed her bed so much that I caught her cuddling up to the remains of what was once her dog bed. Sigh...

UPDATE: Yesterday I picked up a new bed for Happy courtesy of a gift card sent to her by her human "grandparents" in honor of her 18th birthday which is just 1 week away! Lets hope that Jaws, I mean Toni, doesn't sink her teeth into the new bed.

Bone Head Toni Nails Calvin

O.K., so new neighborhood this year + not sure if the neighbors would be prepared for doggie trick-or-treaters. So... I decided not to take the dogs out in costume. I was about to drive Calvin back to the old street to get one of Figaro's mom's super doggie bags but then I got slammed with trick-or-treaters. But that didn't mean we couldn't have some fun at home in between warding off the ninja's, goblins, and deceptacons with sugar snacks!

p.s. I love that devious little smirk on Calvin's face. He is sooooo planning a trick!

Miss you mom!

Toni sends a loving "Barooooo" to her #1 Mom in Parker, CO!!!
Oh, she also says "Wooo-Roooooooooooo" to Benny + Josh!

Crafty Calvin and the Jaws of Steal

Calvin is following in his mom's footsteps and has make his very first work of art/craft. And because of it, Calvin earned a new nickname -- "Jaws of Steal" (not steel). Yesterday he stole an empty can of dog food out of the recycle bin, pealed off the label, and then used his teeth to make a pretty abstract design going around the edge of the can. I think he was trying to make me a votive candle holder and it came out pretty nice. Maybe I can get him a booth at the Art Market next year... ;)

And for those who do not believe a cute little 22 pound dog can be this strong + destructive, trust me this is NOTHING compared to what I know those pearly whites can do.

"Help! I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!"

Poor little Toni. She didn't fall off the bed once last night. Nope, she fell off twice. And it wasn't like Happy falls as Happy has perfected the roll and thud.

Toni got creative and came up with a much more graceful and softer way to fall. First she twirled and twirled until she got my quilt tightly wrapped around her (like a bug snug in a rug). Then she slowly rolled off the bed and briefly hung off the side of my mattress like a hobo sack and then oh so serenely sunk to the floor. If I wasn't freezing and I needed the blankets back I bet Toni would have stayed on the floor in her cocoon of covers.

For Christmas I think I am going to get her and Happy "Life Alert". Seems like the only dog that doesn't get into trouble these days is my little Calvin (and that's because he is is busy eating as many sharpie markers and pants pockets as he can find). I am seriously considering getting padded walls and floors (do they even make padded floors?) for the whole house. Better yet, I can just buy a big bouncy fun house and live in there with the dogs (hmmm...but how would I keep their claws from deflating it?).

The New Style

Toni may be following in her grandmas pawprints. Happy is a true fashionista, Happy loves to dress up and look her best.

I put Happy's Hello Kitty bandanna on Toni and before I knew it Toni had turned her bandanna into a sleeveless little halter top (kinda like the ones that were popular about 10 years ago that looked like a tank top made out of a teeny handkerchief). Man, I love Toni! She is such a goon!

After a very wet summer the weather has finally become AWESOME! Super sunny + not too hot or not too cold. So Calvin + Toni have been getting tons of walks! Here are some photos I took of them when we walked to the bridge and back. Check out that view! :)

What do ya mean I can't be up here?

As if digging a hole under the fence and frolicking through the neighborhood wasn't enough mischief today, Calvin decided he needed to stand in the window frame so that he could get a better view of the neighbors. Only with a face like that can he get away with snooping and staring.

Heart Attack Man!

O.k., I didn't really have a heart attack but I almost did (metaphorically speaking). I was sitting at my computer and I hear a mans voice saying "Are those your dogs? Someones dogs are out". I knew that the handy man was painting the doors so all I could think was that the dogs must have snuck into the house and then snuck out an open door. So I ran downstairs and sure enough the handy man + a neighbor are standing outside watching Calvin + Toni dart back + forth between the neighbors yards.

This is not the first time either dog has escaped but it was the first time they escaped from the new house. So I did what any sane person would do and started shouting "Hot Dog" at the top of my lungs. Thank God the 2 little devils came running right into the house. Unfortunately, I didn't have any hot dogs for them but they did get some cheese.

It turns out that they had dug a hole under the fence. So now wire mesh will need to be added to the bottom of the 6 foot stockade fence. Since the dogs couldn't go back outside and they couldn't stay inside (as the doors were still wet + had no locks) they got banished to the basement with bully sticks. So the little devils had a pretty good day and are safe + sound with full little bully bellies.

BRAT Convention!

Here are some cute photos of Toni (pink tee) and Calvin (blue tee) taken at the dog park visit during the BRAT convention. Toni + Calvin did excellent at the park. Calvin even had a little rainbow love connection. ;)

Cool Footage of Basenjis in the 1930's + 1950's

This website has some cool old footage taken of basenjis.
1930's footage: http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=36979
1950's footage: http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=47639

Click here to learn about some cool historical facts about 'senjis!
http://www.africanbasenji.com/WestAfricans.html

BEWARE OF RED THINGS

[Translated from Yodelish to English using the Basenji Translator 500]

something horrible happened to me yesterday. mom was eating her food and it smelled real good. she had rice and cheese and chicken and beans. she also had these red thing in with the rice. mom ate everything but the red things which she pushed to the corner of her plate. i was thinkin' mom is so nice, she must be leaving these red things for me. so i jumped up and took em. boy did mom yell at me.

the red things tasted ok at first and then it was just horrible. my mouth felt all funny like you know when the sun is really bright and your body gets so warm you hafta go sit in the shade? well my mouth felt like that. i tried to rub my face on the rug but that horrible feeling in my mouth wouldn't go away. and then my belly started to hurt. i felt just awful. mom called the vet and then they were laughing at me. when mom got off the phone she said i would be ok and kept calling me her little chili pepper whatever that means.

so if you see any food that smells good and is red -- DONT EAT IT!!!
it will make your mouth and tummy feel horrible.

from mr calvin cuddles

p.s. mom told me to tell you people that brat has a new blog and my picture is on it http://basenjirescue.blogspot.com . i got a stupid blue shirt on. mom said to scroll down - whatever that means - to see me. my sister versace is also on the blog - she is licking her nose.