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Happy Ending Story: Wilson
 My youngest daughter had been asking for a dog for about
three years. She was pretty clever about it too; leaving her dog
encyclopedia open to pictures and descriptions of "the dog of the
week." I've never been a dog person because I had the misconception
that they were all smelly, unintelligent, barking beasts. Now I know how
wrong I was! One morning I came down to my desk, and the book was
opened to Basenji. I read about them and discussed the possibilities with
my husband. When he agreed, we Googled the word "basenji," and
there was BRAT. We looked through the site and immediately fell in love
with Wilson; we thought he was perfect! We went through the adoption
process—application, home visit, etc.—and anxiously awaited a
decision. Then we got the call that Wilson would be ours!
We picked up Wilson on February 29th, 2004. He did very
well in his new crate on the three-hour trip home.
When we got home, Wilson started marking everything in
sight. I asked myself, what have we done? Fortunately, the marking didn't
persist.
Wilson spent his first night with us seeking high
ground. He'd sit at the top of the stairs while we sat on the floor
downstairs talking to him. The next day I spent the whole day walking him,
talking to him, petting him, and holding him in my lap. His uneasiness
started going away immediately, and day by day, week by week, he grew
accustomed and attached to our family. I work at home, and Wilson spends
most of the day with me. I look forward to his signal to go out. We take a
long walk and explore the neighborhood. He's fallen in love with a dog
down the road, and when the weather is nice he has to lie on the side of
the road, waiting for her to show her face.
 We've settled into a regular schedule where every family
member has quality time with Wilson. We argue about whose bed he will
sleep in every night, and as there are four choices, we all must be
patient for our turn.
Wilson has to greet all visitors, plays like he doesn't
have a care in the world, does the Basenji 500, and falls all over himself
with excitement when he gets sight of our cat, Murray. He can be a real
character!
While it's true that basenjis are not typical dogs—they will defy you and play mind games with you—they are also very
charming. If well-exercised, they can be content to lie in the sun or by
your feet for a nice nap.
I can't express how impressed I am with BRAT. From the
web site, to the selection process, to the immediate help with questions
and problems after the adoption, this organization and their many
volunteers are extraordinary!
Thank you again and again!
Jill, Jim, Erin, Paul, & Hunter
Cullen
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