BF of GP

BASENJI FANCIERS OF GREATER PHOENIX, INC

The Basenji Fanciers of Greater Phoenix, Inc. was formed in 1973 by several local Basenji owners.  The first activity of the Club was to host a Western Regional Specialty in 1973 under the auspices of the parent club, the Basenji Club of America.  BF of GP has held numerous fun matches over the years and, in 2001, received approval from the American Kennel Club to hold a Specialty Show under its own name.  BF of GP currently hosts Lure Coursing practices and fun events at least twice a year.  AKC has also granted permission to hold regular Lure Coursing Trials under the club name.

BF of GP has several members who rescue Basenjis and assist with placing them in homes suited to their individual needs.  Many otherwise doomed Basenjis now own new humans throughout the State of Arizona.
Club members attempt to keep Basenji owners in touch with each other while fostering friendship and offering support when needed.

If you're Interested in joining BF of GP you may attend club meetings before you become a member.  This will give you a chance to learn about the club and meet people who may later sponsor you for membership. When you're ready, fill out our MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION complete with the signature of two members in good standing and send the completed application with your dues to:

Membership Chairman
Joy McNulty
958 E. Friar Ave
Apache Junction, Arizona 85119

To receive our e-newsletter, notify Joy at MM524@aol.comor call her at (480 ) 983-3372.

Stylized representations of a small, aristocratic, curly-tailed dog that authorities believe to be Basenjis, are found in Egyptian Bas-Reliefs created in the time of Moses.  Some sites show the accompanying funeral processions of the great at the time of ancient Pharaohs.  Other engravings dated as early as 3600 B.C. show them as house dogs, seated by the chair of their masters.

There is a long gap between those days and the nineteenth century when various explorers in the upper Congo and the Southern Sudan report dogs “like those of ancient Egypt” being used by the natives to drive game into the hunters' nets.  It is mentioned that they tie bells to them in order to know where they are working, for they are silent hunters.  These techniques are still in use.

The first successful attempts to bring thee fascinating dogs out of Africa were achieved in the nineteen thirties when about a dozen were introduced into England by various persons.  The chief credit for preserving the breed there, in spite of the rigors of World War II, belong to Miss Veronica Tudor-Williams, author of Basenjis: The Barkless Dogs of Central Africa.