I decided it
was time for Savannah to have a companion. She was beginning to show
signs of stress and boredom. I wanted another dog for her to play
with, and it had to be another Basenji. Ideally, this dog needed
to be the same age as Savannah or a bit younger, and definitely the opposite
sex. So, the search began.
I found Sting through
the internet.
I did a search and
found him through the classifieds in Texas. His previous owners had
him tied out in the back along with several other dogs. Sting was
in Texas and I could have him if I could get him from Texas to Georgia.
As fate would have
it, I have a friend who traveled from Texas to Georgia all the time.
I asked my friend if he wouldn't mind a travel companion on the return
trip from Texas some time. Dale was very agreeable and drove to the
home where Sting was staying and gathered him up in our crate and drove
back to the airport. He flew him as extra baggage with no problems.
Sting slept the whole
trip thanks to a mild tranquilizer. The poor baby was so disorientated
and confused when he finally was left out of the crate. Savannah
was running circles around him and showering him with sniffing and kisses.
He just sat there looking around totally confused.
What I saw appalled
me. Sting was very thin and you could see all of his rib bones and count
his vertebrae. He tried to hide from us at first when he got his
bearings. The next morning I took him to our Vet for a quick check
up and my Vet was very concerned about him. Sting was full of parasites
and very ill, and she gave him some antibiotics and some prescription ointments
for use to put on some very large abrasions and cuts that he had.
My Vet even called us at home a few days later to check on his condition,
She was concerned that he would not survive his infections.
Sting was very quiet
and aloof, he seemed to be afraid of everything. We could tell
he liked Savannah, but was afraid of her at the same time. If anyone
raised their voice in the house, Sting would become terrified and would
run and hide under the table or behind a chair or the couch for hours.
No matter how hard we tried to persuade him that everything was okay.
I never saw a living
breathing vacuum cleaner with four legs until I saw Sting eat. He
was ravenous! He didn't even stop to chew, just swallowed his food whole,
and if Savannah left anything in her dish, he cleaned it up too.
In fact, I barely had to wash their dishes because they where licked clean
so well. With an appetite like this it didn't take him long to fill
out.
It took us almost
a year to win Sting over. We wanted him to know that we loved him
and he could trust us to take care of him. Now he is the most vocal
of the three. He greets us when we come home from work, he croons
when we let him in from the back yard, and he gets so silly sometimes that
you just have to laugh.
Sting is now the
male Alpha leader of the pack, yet he is not a bossy leader, he walks and
moves with a quiet dignity and regal stride. 
Sting in now going
through the Dreamworkers course for his TDI to become a Therapy Dog.
Obedience training does not come easy for Sting. He knows all the
commands, he just doesn't like to do them when told. A typical Basenji!
Oh well, we will
keep working on it.