Tana—A year in retrospect
 It's been about a year since we
adopted Tana and she has totally blossomed into a different dog. I am so
proud of her.
When I went to visit her at her foster home, I was prepared
for a skittish, fearful dog, former-puppy-mill breeding female. And she
was. A bit on the thin side, too, and very petite. But absolutely
adorable.
The young daughter of the foster family was the only person Tana
trusted . . . and even she had to crawl under the dining room table to get her
from her hiding spot.
The last thing I expected was for Tana to fall asleep in
my arms within 10 minutes of me holding her. Everyone was surprised, as she
hadn't yet warmed up to anyone like that after several months with the
family. I knew it meant she had chosen me to take her home . . . or maybe I
was just soft and squishy and she got comfortable on my lap. Either way, I fell in love with her instantly
and
knew there was no chance I was leaving without this dog.
The first night, she slept almost glued to my body,
curled in a tight ball in my arms. She still sleeps with me, down by my legs, with Jibini, not out of insecurity, but because it's warm! She used to be
scared to death of men and strangers and jumped at every loud noise. Being in
a truck was a kind of immersion therapy for her. She was in a small space with a man 24/7 and taken for walks around a lot of strangers
and loud
noises. I was there with her every step of the way with treats and praise when
she made progress. I gave her time and let her figure out her own way of
handling things. Within two months she stopped avoiding my husband like he
was contagious, and by three months she would allow a strange man to pet her.
 Today,
she waltzes right up to strangers and gives them a good sniff. Doesn't even
back off if people reach down to pet her. Loves kids. She is also
very playful though it took her a while to figure out how. Now I can engage
her in play very easily and she does the same with me! We have our playtime
rituals, including taking turns pawing at each other. She does the typical
basenji slap but it is soooo slow and gentle, so I do the same back to her
and sometimes it's enough to get a B-500 out of her! Silly is the best word
I can use for her.
Occasionally she is overwhelmed with bouts of silly and will leap straight
up in the air, or spin around in tight circles for no reason at all. Maybe
it's ingrained cage behavior from being in the mill; she does a cage
twirl when really excited and I love to see the joy on her face when she
realizes she has plenty more room to move around.
I've taken her to the dog park a
couple of times and have found that she loves other dogs and she is very
fast! I would love to try agility with her.
She is also intelligent, sensitive, and willing to please, unlike most
basenjis she hates to be told no and
that's about all it takes to make her stop misbehaving. I think she'd be a
great obedience or agility prospect.
 I knew she was "my dog" the day Fred told me she
whines when I leave.
She is the most adorable little princess. Even Jibini, Mr.-Grumpy-Pants, who initially gave her the silent treatment,
couldn't resist her charms. If she gets wet, Jibini dutifully licks her dry.
He cleans her ears. He cuddles with her when it's cold. (Though he seems to
do it reluctantly if he thinks I'm watching, scooting closer and closer to her with a
resigned look on his face until he's up next to her, then he'll go to
sleep.) He uses her for a pillow when
they sleep together. He only grumbles half-heartedly when she climbs over
him and lies down beside him. I swear he taught her the rules as she closely
mimics his behavior during our daily routines and I haven't taught her a
thing.
Sorry I wrote such a long Tana-novel, but every day I am amazed at
how much this little dog has become ingrained into our life. I can hardly
remember what it was like before we adopted her. My thanks goes out to BRAT,
her adoption coordinator and her foster family for allowing me the honor to have this little dog in my
life!
Danielle and Fred (the humans)
Jibini the Truckin'
Basenji (7-year-old tri-color male)
Tana the Rookie Trucker (2-year-old
trindle female)
Based in Yankton, SD and traveling the
country! |
