Animal Insting

What happened yesterday was that we had several small Good Adventures and no Bad Adventures, so I was happy. Besides finding some cicadas -- although only a few -- I found a Tortilla Chip! I was going to eat the whole thing myself, but it was so big that part of it fell out of my mouth, and Gabe ate the part I dropped. After that, I found a Dirty Kleenex, which made Mom said "Leave it!" and I did. Then I found another one, and Mom made me leave that one, too. And after that, I found a Q-Tip, but Mom didn't let me get close enough to even get it in my mouth. Gabe found some spilled kitty litter, but Mom dragged him away from it. All together, though, I think it was a pretty good day for walking because we found some good stuff, even though we didn't get to bring it home.

Okay, well, I said I would tell you some more about basenji sounds, so I guess I'll do that now. Mom says I'm a talkative girl because I say "ow-oop" whenever I want to make a comment. And sometimes I make a sound like dogs make at the end of a yawn.

When I am warning Gabe to not even think about stealing my chewy, I make a kind of grumbly, growly noise. Mom says it sounds like I am cussing Gabe out. She says it's like if a person with a mouthful of marbles were cussing at another person, and you couldn't understand any of the words, but you could pretty much guess what they were saying.

Oh, and then there's my shriek. I am a talented shrieker. Just let somebody bite me or step on my foot, and I let out a big yelpy kind of shriek that is almost enough to curdle your blood. Right after I first came here from Houston, Mom took me to meet Dr. Patricia, and she let Gabe come along for moral support. Mom asked Dr. Patricia to give me a microchip, so when Dr. Patricia stuck that great big, sharp needle in me, I shrieked, and Gabe nipped the vet tech on the ankle! I guess it was pretty clear that someone was hurting his new little sister and he needed to defend her!

Anyway, speaking of Gabe, I will just say that he makes a couple of other sounds that I don't make. One is a kind of short baroo when he's excited, like when the supper dish is about to be set down in front of him. I think this baroo sounds just like a rooster crowing. Also when Gabe growls, it is this nasal sort of sound that always makes Mom laugh. I don't think he likes being laughed at, especially at a moment when he is trying to sound all tough and macho, but Mom laughs anyway. And then she tells him, "Nobody is going to take you seriously if you sound like that!" But he just ignores her and goes on growling.

That's really all I can think of to say about basenji sounds. Except that of course they are far superior in variety and quality to the sounds that ordinary dogs make.