In Memory

Famadu (Calliope's brother) January 15th, 1994 - April 19th, 2008.
He was much loved by the Workmans, "Famadu was the best dog ever was."

Carol Castellino's Hatch
Apu Two-Thirds of Niner ~ January 7th, 2006 - October 5th, 2007

He was here, oh so briefly, to bring love to us all, and, having done that, has gone to bring our love to Willin.

I met an Angel (in memory of Hatch), by Joe Stewart

I met an Angel just the other night,
A perfect face with a muzzle of black, tan and white.
Ears soft as velvet and a spirit so bold,
A wrinkled visage completed with a nose oh so cold.
Eyes that could pierce you and make you start to sway.
I swear you could hear the words “Come On! Let’s Play!”

I met an angel while out for a trip,
To a place where green fields waited for him to run and zip.
A born racer, how I loved to watch him run,
Especially as he leapt from the box for some fun.
Quick after the bunny down the track he would chase,
Just like his mother and sister he could win that race.

The Angel I met had to leave yesterday.
God called him to heaven’s paddock to race away.
He need young Hatch’s great love for the universe you see,
For 'Senjis are individuals who simply love to run free.
No more shoulder taps in the bedroom for the sheets to lift
A piece of my heart now feels quite adrift.

I was visited by an Angel at a race in the field,
A brother with motivation was the result it would yield.
The switch of a muzzle and Trog’s interest did ignite,
As the box opened up and the bunny he did sight.
Hatch must have whispered in my Little Man’s soft ear
“We’ve a family tradition. Now move your rear!”

Basenjis are Angels, who visit earth for a while,
They own us, they love us, and they make us all smile.
They snuggle, they yodel and yes sometimes will snark,
That’s obvious of course as they simply can’t bark.
While the pain is enormous when our angels must leave,
The love I shared with my 'Senji lets me smile a little while I grieve.

Batsy D. Basenji flew free on May 1st at 15 1/2 years old. He is always in our dreams along with his mother, Regal Fox Fawn, who left before him. Both had all the love the world could offer, from Tamara & Dennis Allen, and Andiamo, too.

Ida Gauguin Collage

~Fender~
Apu Fender Stratocaster ~ 12/31/88 - 5/30/05

~ Niner ~

Lisa Osenni, said, about Niner: "Not only did O.L.D catch up...it hit her on the head, took her purse, and took off down the alleyway...

And so on Feb. 4th, 2005, I had to live out my promises to her. 16 years, one month after she was born here, breech, a singleton, who I looked at for one second, and said, "well, she'll just stay here." I was with her as my vet first slipped her under anesthesia, so she just went to sleep, and then put her down. I promised her I'd outlive her.

I haven't another dog so lovely or who smells so good. Yellow ball dog extra-ordinaire. 1/2 a breed champion, winning a major and 7 more points at 8 1/2 years old. My husband was too ill for me to show while she was young. I don't believe she ever did a thing wrong or untrue in her entire life.

Apu Go Joe (12.31.88 - 2.04.05) Ch. Apu Flash (lived to be the same, 16 and one month,) X Ch. Apu Days of Our Lives (lived to be just short a month of 15).

Named after Joe Montana.

Niner's daughter, the beautiful Tana (I called her Velvet,) passed to join her mom in June of 2006.
She is greatly missed by Mary Lou Casey and Bob Matthai.

Kevlar

Kevlar Timtoo of Apu (12/31/99 ~ 3/31/04)
Kevlar could not survive complications from Lyme Disease. He was just as dear his entire short life as he was
in this wee puppy photo of him. Kevlar had all the love in the world, and then some, from Mary and Ryan Silva, and Kelly.

Rompu

Rompu ~ 6/6/96 - 9/20/03

Apu Chiarascuro (Ch. Apu Must be the Money X Ch. Apu Eccological Gem)

He stepped out of a car on a dark night, on lead, with his owner, Tony Widoff and was attacked by an off lead female Golden Retriever. He died on the way to the vet.

A lovely and greatly (tremendously) loved, way too young to pass, basenji boy, Rompu.

Because I would not stop for death, he kindly stopped for me.........

Haduni

Haduni ti-n Abou Teka 5. Jan. 2002 - 9. May 2003
(Sire: Ch. Apu Peas an Hominy - Dam: Ch. Anya's FyreLyte) The car & she met & time concluded. Our hugs and kisses and love go with you, Haduni, and to your dear loved ones, Claudia, Andy, and Lea, and breeder Uschi. Here, her grandfather Trill (Ch. Apu Must Be the Money), stacked himself and eerily howled on May 9th. I ran outside in alarm, shaken by his plaintive howls, which were entirely new to him, wondering what he knew.

Like a spark she lived,
quick and bright,
a flare of love and heat and light,
A dancing flame, too bright to see,
has embraced her final destiny.
And we are cold without our flame,
but, in the dark, some hope remains,
that she is warm and safe and loved,
running in green fields above,
that she is happy, free from pain,
her spirit unbound by earthly gain.
And in the darkest night, our darling friend
whispers softly, "We will meet again."

--Karin Shah

"Sophie"

"The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"
Sophie ~ Ch. Apu Days of Our Lives (1/18/86 - 11/28/00)

Cleo

by Lisa Osenni Mackey

Cleo had a happy start in life with a family that had a small child. Busy work schedules forced these people to part with Cleo in the hopes that she'd find a home where she wouldn't be left alone so much. Passed from a dog shelter to a horrific situation with a family whose likeness to the characters in "Deliverance" was unnerving, Cleo never lost her nerve, or her spirit. In fact, all of this passing around made Cleo's personality--her willfulness and her attitude--stronger. Starved and mistreated, (and really misunderstood) by The Deliverance's, Cleo was once again put up for adoption.
The ad read, "Purebred Basenji, $75."

Well, we got her out of that house for $200...something about the ad being printed wrong...or maybe because we had all of our teeth we were charged more. It didn't matter-- we had to get the hell out of Serial Killer County.

Cleo J. Kahari (official name on her AKC papers) fit in fine with her new humans, and her new brother, Fender, also a Basenji. They lived many years together, in 6 different homes. Over the years, her family grew to include 2 more Basenjis, and 2 Chinese Cresteds (and a couple of birds, too).

Cleo was walked every day, (2-3 times per day!) for 10 years straight. When she finally moved into a house with a fenced-in yard, she retired to sunning on the deck and running with the pack (if she was so inclined).

Independent, aloof, and very definite about her likes and dislikes, Cleo was Her Own Dog. She and I had many altercations over the years. I can't say we were best buds, but we were very used to each other. When I first had her, she destroyed many items: she ate a chair, venetian blinds,chewed stainless steel bowls, shredded a handmade afghan, oh, and one time she crunched a pair of my glasses. I can't flatter myself and say she respected me because she would look me in the eye while taking a crap where she knew she wasn't supposed to. Cleo was a hardcore Basenji.

In the end, her spark was gone. This was a dog who once successfully devoured batches of Christmas cookies off the counter--without a trace of evidence as to how she did it. Cleo's last few months were confusing to her, as she had seizures that left her in some sort of dementia. Her kidneys were failing, and she was showing signs of congestive heart failure.
I didn't want her to have to work so hard at living anymore. I wanted her to have some dignity-- and that bitchy attitude-- to take with her to the other side.

I hope you're OK now, Cleo.