Our basenji, Pearl (born on Pearl Harbor day, 2001), is a 22 lb tri-color. Her white, brown and black markings are perfectly symetrical, from her white blaze to black saddle. As with all basenji's, she doesn't bark, but she does make noise:
- When a friend of hers passes by outside or some other event excites her, she gives off a single, sharp, "yip!" that goes by so fast you almost wonder if you really heard it.
- When she yawns, a high-pitched little "yowww" sometimes escapes.
- When she's excited to see you, but you don't pay her enough attention, a pleasantly modulated "rrroooo" comes out.
She often stands like a show dog in the characteristic pose for her breed: feet a shoulder-width apart, leaning forward slightly, tail tightly curled, head up, eyes alert and ears forward. It's beautiful.
Like most basenji's, she's a speed demon: some dogs can take her on the straightaways, but she can take them back on the curves. At full gallop, her tail straightens out behind (for balance) and her ears slick back against her head (so they don't catch on things or offer up air resistance).
Basenji's are both sight and scent hounds and Pearl displays this constantly. She can spot a treat in my hand at 50 paces and smell a cat through a brick wall.
While she's quite intelligent, she has by no means learned to use her intelligence for good rather than evil. Usually she looks to see if anyone is watching before she does something bad - such as her favorite of grabbing the free end of the toilet paper on the roller and running like hell. If you keep an eye on her, however, she will stay in line.
We love her.