My introduction to the dog world began as a child, and was mostly influenced by my auntie who at the time was an avid breeder of Fox Terriers. I have many fond memories of weekends spent at shows playing child handlers with the other children and their dogs. I was given my first show dog “Ruffy” when I was eight years old; he was an Australian Terrier. This led to my association with Olive and Trevor Robb who own Basenjis and Australian Terriers. Olive and Trevor gave me the opportunity to handle “Crackers”, one of their Basenjis and I fell in love immediately with this unusual breed.
Lady, my first Basenji was purchased by my parents for my twelfth birthday. She did not turn out to be the greatest of show specimens with an abundance of faults, and after three years of showing, John Forbes, noticing my persistence with Lady, approached my parents about the possibility of providing me with a show puppy. Arrangements were made and Honey was bought home.
Honey (Aus Ch Baagna Justa Honey) was a good producer and would become the foundation for Wazazi Basenjis. At three years Honey had her first litter and being relatively inexperienced I relied upon the advice given to me by Honey’s breeder John Forbes. I remain to this day grateful for those words of wisdom and encouragement. John advised me that he thought Hustler (Aus Ch Baagna Hustler) would be the perfect choice for Honey as they complemented each other in every way. Nine weeks later John helped deliver the litter, and thus the first Wazazi puppies were born. From this litter came Midge (Aus Grand Ch Wazazi Trybal Image) and Boof (Aus Ch Wazazi Trybal Leader). I had many happy years of successful showing with these two great dogs and learnt a lot about my likes and dislikes in the breed.
As I have limited space and facilities for a larger number of dogs, I must choose the dogs I keep carefully. I always try to keep a range of ages, as this way there is always one young enough to show. Once I keep a puppy it stays for life and clearly my principle is always quality over quantity.
At present I have at home three bitches:
- Savana (Aus Ch Wazazi Hart ofthe Savana) born in 1998
- Electra (Aus Ch Wazazi Awesome Glamour) born in 2006
- Delta (Aus Ch Kanibaru Del Diamante) born in 2007
