Family desperate to find missing show dog
Prize-winning basenji bolted from house after arriving just a few days ago from U.S.
It’s every dog owner’s nightmare.
Marisa Nichini and her 13-yearold daughter Téa were counting the days until Samantha, a sixyear-old prize-winning basenji, was set to arrive in Vancouver from Washington state.
The big day came March 24 and, as expected, they all bonded beautifully.
But a mere five days later, Samantha, perhaps frightened and confused by her new surroundings, bolted from a home near East 27th and Knight Street, where the mother and daughter were visiting for brunch.
The pair, along with friends, began a massive search. The dog was supposedly spotted at around 11 p.m. the same day in the area of East 37th and Victoria Drive, but they are still searching.
“We have been sick to our stomachs and at the same time, we’ve been so thankful to our friends who have rallied around and helped look for her,” said Nichini, an independent communications consultant in Vancouver.
Samantha is around 22 pounds, knee-high, black and white with a curly tail, long white legs and delicate paws. She came to the Nichinis from dog breeders Therese and Kevin Leimback of Battle Ground, Wash., who had her for about a year-and-a-half. They, too, are heartbroken over the loss.
Therese said in an interview that Samantha had a very successful show career, but what really stands out is her love of children. Before the Leimbacks had her, she was raised around small children.
“All she wanted was to get near babies, toddlers and young kids,” said Therese. “I am just hopeful she is with a family, that she has followed someone home and that she is tucked in somewhere.”
Originally bred as African hunting dogs, basenjis are not rare, but are special in that they are not given to barking, Nichini said. That was an important consideration because she and Téa live in an apartment.
Nichini said her parents had a basenji that died about five years ago. “It’s a breed that I have always really enjoyed and found a lovely affinity with.”
Samantha was wearing a blue collar with some purple in it when she went missing. She had been licensed with the City of Vancouver, but disappeared before the tags could arrive.
Kevin Leimback has already come up from Washington once with friends and two basenjis to help search for Samantha in the hope that she would emerge from hiding if a dog of the same breed was in the vicinity. Therese is headed back here this weekend with basenjis on the same mission, if the dog is not found before then.
The Nichinis have posted ads on Craigslist and Kijiji and plastered the area where she was spotted around Victoria Drive with leaflets.
If anyone has found Samantha, Nichini said she is happy to cover any vet bills or other bills associated with her return. “My daughter and I want her home.”
Anyone who might have spotted Samantha is asked to call the City of Vancouver animal control at 311, the Vancouver SPCA at 604-879-7721, or the Burnaby SPCA at 604-291-7201.