Meet the Basenji

Remember learning about ancient civilizations in history class? Turns out, Basenjis were around for all of that! We’re thought to be one of the oldest dog breeds, with depictions of us turning up in ancient Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Babylonian art. When these civilizations collapsed, we managed to stick around in the wild, living on the banks of the Nile and Congo rivers.

Eventually, we became a pawpular hunting dog in Central Africa, particularly the Congo. My name, meaning “village dog,” comes from Lingala and Swahili, and we sighthounds are often called the Congo dog. Our speed, sense of smell, and astute eyesight made us great at hunting prey in ancient Egypt. We’re even known for being furbulous at vertical jumping, which helped us peer over high grass to find the creatures we were looking for. Today, we work out our hunting instincts with some good old-fashioned lure coursing.

In 1895, a group of humans brought a pair of us to England in hopes of breeding us there, but unfortunately the two pups died suddenly of distemper. It wasn’t until 1937 that they decided to try again, bringing two more Basenjis over. In no time, dog-lovers in England went crazy for us and our erect ears! They were so excited to see us, in fact, that police had to be called to calm down the crowd!

While the female of the pair died quickly, Bois, the male, eventually made his way to Boston with a breeder, where he was introduced to a new lady Basenji. The rest is history, as they say! In 1942, the Basenji Club of America was formed, and two years later, we were officially recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC), becoming the AKC’s 107th breed.