Basset Notes

The following are some of the notes we've received from the many kind people who have stopped by and joined the pack.

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I happened to come across your basset page. It's wonderful!!!!! We currently own two bassets, Sneakers, l0 and Sandals, 4 years of age, both females. They are the best breed, we totally enjoy them, I just found the basset pages, but had to drop you a note and let you know how much I enjoyed reading about your dogs.

I've been visiting your Basset's Den for months now, but have been reticent to send a message until I had a Basset of my very own to gush about. I just adopted Tess from San Deigo Basset Hound Rescue. She's a love, and a Basset Hound through and through, which is to say she's a very good dog!

Tess is the fourth Basset Hound I've known and loved, but the first Basset to call my very own. I wouldn't own any other breed of dog. We have a similar temperaments: loyal, affectionate, willful, obstinate, comical, addicted to attention, hedonistic, etc. In fact, I think I might have been a Basset in a previous life!

But enough about me. Tess is 5 years old, a tri-color, though mostly red with a white muzzle, chest, belly, and paws. She has just a hint of black on her back and sides. She weighs 50 pounds and is rather svelt for a dog that previously got little or no exercise. She was first owned by a flight attendant who would leave her for days at a time. She apparently never went on walks! After a year, the flight attendant acquired another Basset puppy to whom she paid more attention, and toward whom Tess developed a healthy jealousy. Both dogs were then adopted out to a farm, but the second owners gave Tess up because she was still having problems with the other dog.

Tess is rather reserved around dogs, which suprises me. Most Bassets I've known have loved everything that moves. I took Tess to a park where dogs can run off leash, and she wasn't the least bit interested in frolicking with the other dogs, but she was interested in getting petted by the other dog owners! Everyone thought she was really sweet, which she is. I'm hoping that she'll grow to like other dogs and even want to play with them.

I could go on and on about Tess or Bassets at large, but I'll close with a reminder for all you San Diego area Basset lovers that the fifth annual Basset Hound Rescue Picnic is coming up. It's the first Sunday in June (June 2nd) at Morley Field (behind the tennis courts) from 10am to 3pm. It's a howling good time and it helps support a worthy cause. See you there!

Just a note to say "cool web page"

I have a 4 year old male Basset Hound named Lightning and just added a female puppy to my collection,BTW had to name her Thunder. It gets a litle loud around our house but i wouldnt trade them for the world

I have a friend that has a pure white basset hound.

Is this very common?

Thanks,
Max
maxd@mail.stic.net

Hello to all Basset lovers!

What a surprise to find this on the WEB. It is nice to know that there are many others out there that share a great love for this wonderful; yet, very stubborn, breed. My husband and I have 2 Bassets. Megan is 8 years old and Abby is 10 months. Megan was very upset and had her fur in an uproar when the little puppy came along. It took one weekend away in a kennel to convince them that they are pals. Even though they are the same breed, their personalities are at opposite ends of the scale. My concern centers mainly around the puppy, Abby. Her front legs are incredibly crooked. They are to the point where she walks on the sides of her feet. She has a lot of difficulty walking and can not walk very far. The other problem with Abby is the fact that she has developed a bone disease which has lodged in her femur. When this disease/virus acts up she is unable to walk and doesn't eat for days. The vet told us to treat it with aspirin. The vet also said that the two problems aren't related to eachother. Does anyone else share this problem? We would really appreciate your feedback.

Thanks!

Fanny was just diagnosed with a dislocated back left kneecap. The vet is saying an operation is imperative to hold off arthritis etc... Fanny seems to be in a little pain, but mostly she seems depressed. She really is a fabulous dog (and only 41/2!). Do any other Basset owners have similiar stories? She's an active dog (especially for a basset) and we just want her to be healthy and happy. I can be reached at:

housjob@alcor.concordia.ca

Thank you

Hi!

Like all of the other folks, I am thrilled to find a page with so much about Basset Hounds. My husband and I have had Madeline as long as we have been married, and Petunia followed soon after. Madeline is quite a character who begs for table scraps like most dogs do, but will go away if I say "GO ON" and point away.

The only thing she absolutely insists on having is citrus. I am not joking, she loves grapefruit and oranges and will beg for lemons and limes, but I don't torture her like that. Petunia is a very svelt, soft coated lemon and white hound with a penchant for escaping from any yard. We call her Houndini. She is much smaller than most adult bassets because she was very sick as a puppy, and was also the runt.

We love them both, sometimes I think we love them more than humans love dogs. My question is about Madeline who has a lot of health problems. The worst one is her knee which has a build up of arthritis. She is only 5 so the vet thinks she may have injured it as a puppy. He wants us to think about having surgury done after he manipulates the knee to see if it is, indeed, unstable.

I was wondering if anyone has any advice for me. I want Madeline to be comfortable and live as normal a life as possible, and I don't know if surgery is a good option. I also know I don't want her to be miserable and limping for the rest of her life. She is on a diet to take some of the strain off of the knee--she's not too heavy, but she's not svelte like her escaping sister either.

Thanks for any advice you may have.

Hey great site!

I am currently on the hunt (so to speak) for a dog and am still trying to deciede what kind (it's been 5 years since my last dog a Basset that lived a full life).

And in looking up this breed and that and seeing your intro I have learned something I never realized, there are a lot of differnt types of Bassets! Wow! In fact I am starting to wonder if old Clio was even a Basset Hound, we alway thought she way a little small, hmmmm...

Anyway here's a suggestion, how about a page discibing the diferent types of Bassets, it seems like only the hounds get the real attention (lots of pages and rescue groups, what about the others?

Oh, almost forgot there is a group in NJ that specialize in PETIT BASSET GRIFFON VENDEEN rescues Contact: Barbara Wicklund Phone: (908) 281-6532 home, I spoke to someone else in the group and was told that this breed is only related to Basset Hounds in name (not too sure about that, they look like Bassets to me, well with long hair), and that unlike Basset Hounds are very playful (guess they never met a yound Basset Hound, my old dog, Clio (that was the name she came with), was very lively up to about 10yreas old).

Anyway, great page.

Michael Calleia

I recently bought a six week old Basset puppy. I have housebroken a Cocker Spaniel puppy with no trouble, but am finding Henry to be more of a challenge. Any hints? Please send messages to:

jcwatkins@micron.com

This is the first time I have read your pages. We have two bassets at present. Our older basset has developed cancer of the mouth, blastoma. My vet does not paint a good picture. He calls for radiation therapy and surgery. Being a nurse I hate to put my dog thru such stuff. Have you any experience?

If there is any one in the Vancouver Canada area, I am trying to get some information on an event called "Walk your Basset Hound Day"

Please E-mail me if you have any info

Thanks

NB: We have found the above e-mail address to be undeliverable and hope the author will write in with a correct one. If you have information on this or other Basset events let us know and we'll post them.

H.B.

Greetings to all the Basset lovers out there!

My name is Kris and I live in Wyoming. We have had many dogs over the years that we have loved very, very much. None have had the effect on us that our Baxter did. About 4 years ago, we found a little basset in a pet store. He was the most adorable tri-colored male. The sweetest disposition, just real laid back. Anyway, we didn't care to have papers on our "baby" that showed his background. We weren't concerned with using him for show or breeding purposes. We were all in love with this little guy from the second we laid eyes on him. We just wanted to take him home! And we did. Not once did we regret our decision. Not when Baxter, at about 3 months old, chewed up red lipsticks all over the suede colored furniture! Not when he would sneak out the front door and look over his shoulder at us (as we would come running) as he padded down the sidewalk to explore the neighborhood. Not when you would catch him with what was left of a roll of toilet paper in his mouth and the rest scattered all over...he would just look at you like, "How could you think this face is behind mischief?"

A little over a year ago, Baxter seemed to get picky about what he ate. I took him to the vet after a week. The vet said it might just be the cold bothering him. (We had just moved from Az.) So we tried a soft food and that worked for a week or so. When we got back to Wyoming, Baxter went to a familiar vet. We tried several different things and blood tests were done. The tests came back with a high white cell count. Baxter went on antibiotics for the elusive infection. When the vet called with the results, I knew in my heart that I wouldn't have my "baby guy" much longer. He couldn't go up or down the stairs and would only eat chicken noodle soup that had to be hand fed. I didn't mind. His hair was fallinng out and he was losing weight. I called and took him back to the vet. I had been up with Baxter all night. Something was really wrong. I asked if a chest xray could be taken. His heart was pounding and breathing difficult. The xray came back with devestating results. There was a alot of fluid around his heart and the vet told me straight out that the rest of the results had come back. There was cancer somewhere. Now it looked as though it was centered around his heart. It was. We agreed that Baxter deserved the chance and the vet went into surgery. If the tumor was operable, try to save him. It wasn't. It was about the size of an egg and attached to his heart. We had to have him put down. My whole family cried as if we had lost one of our children. We really had. Our English Springer Spaniel was lost without her buddy. She looked for Baxter for weeks. He was barely 3 years old.

We have waited almost a year and are thinking maybe we should get another one. We love our other dogs, but bassets just seem to find that extra special spot in your heart and latch on hard...and forever.

I know this is an unhappy story, but there are two wonderful things that came out of this: We donated Baxter to a medical facility to try to help determine what causes this sort of problem and maybe save someone else this heartache someday. And, even though my heart still breaks for Baxter, I would go through it all again because there is nothing like the love you get from these beautiful, sloppy, irresistable dogs!

TO: Kris

Dear Kris,

Thank you for your story. It is a sad one, but we do post sad stories that comemorate Bassets. Death is a part of the circle of life and we feel that all sides of a Basset's life should be reflected in the Den.

Stories like yours remind us we have to love our Basset now while we have time. As if loving a Basset took any effort at all.

H.B.

hi from fanny the normandy basset from montreal. Today I ate my owners lunch. I ate the dessert first, mmm... pie.

Hi. I am not sure if this is the right place for this question, but if not perhaps you can direct me...

I have always wanted to have a Basset, and am now seriously considering getting one. They are so incredibly adorable!

My question is this: I have parrots, Amazons, and I am having trouble finding information on how Bassets react with birds?? For that matter, there are several breeds I am considering as a pet, and info on how any of them interact with birds is pretty scarce. Getting a puppy would provide the opportunity to let the dog "grow up" with the birds, but adopting an older pet is an idea I am looking at.

Any help here?? I guess it's possible that the birds can always move faster than the Basset, yes? Thanks for any help you can offer!

Paige.

We just love this site! We are on our second bassett, just having acquired a new puppy a few weeks ago. It was great reading the funny letters from all the owners. Unfortunately our puppy seems to have absorbed every quirk mentioned.

We have in the past had a variety of dogs, but the Bassett is different! They don't realize they are not people.

One note of interest, I have found both bassetts to be alergic to soy. The first dog (runover this past christmas) was having to have monthly allergy shots at the vet, when my trial and error I discovered it was soy flour in her food that was breaking her out. On giving our new puppy some treats, sure enough she would itch her mouth and the treats had soy in them.

Best wishes to everyone who is owned by a Bassett. My daughter has a new Bassett Page up and running.

Katie's Bassett Hound http://www.nashville.com/wws111/ginger.htm

Please drop by and leave her a message.

Bye, Chip, Linda, Katie & Ginger Curley

Hello fellow basset lovers. My name is Chris. I live in Vancouver, Canada. I have a basset named Fred. We adopted him from the Basset Rescue Society 3 years ago. He is a great family pet. He is afraid of rabbits and squirrels.

P.S. He is not very bright

Hello fellow Basset lovers!

Patience and I were so happy to find a place to talk to other Basset owners.Patience is three years old and adorable. I don't show her and she has been spayed. I'd love to email other Basset owners.

Patience seems to have an extremely sensitive stomach. Her doctor put her on Carafate and Tagament. She eats grass and Then vomits. The main problem is she started passing some blood also. This has happened before and the Carafate finally cleared it up. Naturally I'm concerned. Has anyone else experienced this? Is there anything else I should be doing? Are there any suggestions I should make to her doctor?

Patience and I thank you in advance for any help you may be able to give.

Debbie & Patience

email us at: dls@searnet.com

Hello ! I am now finally able to reach this page via a new Network and want to formally say WOW ! I had no idea there were so many Baseet lovers out there! We are Alexannder and Hans-Dieter 3 years old and Dieter is 8 months.

We live in the Southern Adirondack Region in the Hudson Valley of New York State. We'd love to hear from other Basset lovers and get new idea on events and such. Feel free to contact us at anzeiger@sprynet.com or visit our new homepage http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/anzeiger

Tschüß !

Thank you so much for your "Basset's Den" web site! My husband and I just love it. Our basset, "Ginger" was, unbelievably, a STRAY during one of the coldest nights in San Antonio history. She was travelling with a companion, and we had decided to adopt them both if they stayed the night voluntarily. We also decided to name them Fred and Ginger.

Fred didn't stay, but Ginger did, and that was five years ago! She is such a clown. She is so single-minded, jealous, affectionate, playful, protective, maternal, and every other descriptive word I can think of. It's great to be able to read other Basset owner's accounts of their "babies" - now we know we're not alone! My husband insists that Bassets are the most intelligent breed because our Ginger actually DECIDES what to do. She DECIDES not to listen to "Come", DECIDES to choose a rawhide over a biscuit, etc, etc, etc! We love her.

We'll be a regular visitor to this and all the Basset web pages now that we know you're here!

Sincerely,

Laura and Harrison Grindle
San Antonio, TX

I found your page on the Web and just had to contact you right away!!!! But, the new software I was using was giving me real hard problems so I thought I'd E-Mail you via this Local BBS that I use. I have 2 Basset hounds One 3 year old Alexaander Kendrick and one 9 months old Hans-Dieter. I didn't know so many others existed that loved their Bassets they way we do! They are the center of our lives and I would love to meet new people with the Love for Bassets as there aren't many around where I live! We live just north of Albany NY near the Adirondack Moutains and love to run through the woods and nap in the sun, even swim where ever possible ! Hope to hear from you soon!

Thom Prescott

anzeiger@sprynet.com

anzeiger@tu.albany.ny.us

I'm trying to post this message to the appropriate forums with the hope of finding a loving home for this wonderful dog:

I recently visited the Palo Alto Animal Shelter in the city of Palo Alto, CA (Northern California, about 30 minutes south of San Francisco). I met and played with the most delightful and beautiful, neutered male Basset. He looks to be around 1 to 2 years old, and he has a wonderful temperment. So, why don't I adopt him? I would in heartbeat, but I already have two very LARGE dogs at home who would respond negatively to having their lives disrupted by another canine companion. My husband and I are both enamored with this dog, and we would love to see him go to the right home.

Here's information about the shelter and the dog, which was sent to me by a shelter volunteer:

JUPITER. M/N, very young adult Basset Hound. Tri-color. Friendly, barks a lot for attention. Was picked up as a stray. He had a slightly torn ear when he came in, but it's been treated and is now fine.

The Palo Alto Animal Services shelter, a city-run, not-for-profit organization, is open from 11am to 5:30pm, Monday through Saturday, except holidays. The shelter is at 3281 East Bayshore Road, between Embarcadero and San Antonio Roads. The phone is 415-329-2671. We also offer low-cost neuter and vaccination clinics.

On Easter morning our basset (Droopy) decided to have an egg hunt all of his own. He snatched a purple egg from my daughters Easter basket so fast none of us could believe he had a whole egg in his mouth, let alone close it (which he did). He scampered off in the grass only to park his rear in the green stuff and sit and stare at us. My young 7 year old daughter was convinced he had her purple egg in his mouth. Droopy merely sat in his distinguished position and looked at us. I was convinced that a dog his size could not contain a whole egg in his mouth and keep it closed so long and still be able to breath.

Once our eyes cast a different direction, he opened his mouth and out popped the purple egg as he spat it to the ground. I ran over to retreive the egg only to engage in a wild (egg eating) dog chase around the front yard. After the chase, we decide that Droopy deserved at least one egg for Easter and my daughter gladly peeled the purple shell from the egg to help Droopy digest in a proper mode.

Happy Easter to all.

Sincerely,
The Wright Family

Howlowwww!!! It's such a joy to see so many Basset Lovers out there!!I live in the Daytona Beach area, and currently am considered Daytona Beach Basset Rescue.

I presenly have two bassetts: Homer, a 5 year old red/wht with such a PERSONality- it's like hes a person, I swear!! He was dumped in Ormond Beach by Daytona with just a note on his collar that read in part "...My name is Homer, I'm 11 months old...Please help me with a home". I came to Florida from N.J. looking for a job, went home to pack-no apartment,no job..but I had my Basset!! Once we settled in I discovered alot about Bassets I didn't know- the degree of their stubborness!! It took him 6 months to housebreak, and longer not to howl in the apartment as soon as I was out of his sight (almost got evicted..)-he will not bed down on the floor- what a cushy breed of dog!! He has the most beautiful amber eyes that look deep into his soul, and he's a "talker" has a moan, groan, whine -a noise for everything. But my favorite times with him are when he snuggles close, nuzzles me with his nose, "talks" and just wants to be adored. My heart melts!

Lucy is my other Basset-4 years old, my "Wedding Present" from my husband- total opposites! Lucy is just a big bundle of laughter- shes wiggly, air-headed, a real court jester whos very demanding! Wants your attention? She takes her paws and swipes at you-the bruises I have on my body from her!Then she gives an indignant flip of her head, as to say "Come on!!", if that all fails (This is a showstopper)she puts her front paws on your legs, sits flat on her chubby butt and does a backbend! I kid you not-her top of the head almost hits her rear!! Then she pulls her lip up and smiles!

They come to work with me(I'm a veterinary receptionist), and people love Homer for his people charming ways, and others ask (mid backbend) "is she ok?"

I tell them, yep, they're just put on this earth to make you smile-With a body conformity like theirs, you'd HAVE to have a sense of humor, don't you think???

Love them..They'll keep you smiling for years, and melt your heart...

Bassett904

We have a 11 year old female basset named Lilly. About four or five months ago she developed some kind of skin disease. After three months of going to a specialist, we still don't know exactly what her problem is or what is causing it. The only medicine that helps her is prednisolone. We know all this medicine does is stop the itching not actually cure the problem. If anyone has ever incountered a similiar please E-mail us. Thank You!!!!!

In reference to your photo of RareGems' dogs: Although I have seen references to PBGVs as "long-haired bassets," they are cousins only to bassets. The common ancestor to both bassets and PBGVs is the bloodhound. PBGVs do not have dwarfed or deformed legs, just shorter than normal ones. Don't worry, I like bassets. Lillie, one of my PBGVs, has a best friend basset named Freddy, for Frederica. Thanks for the swell website!