Debbie Hauri of Mata Hauri Basenjis

About Debbie Hauri
of Mata Hauri Basenjis

My goal is to breed sweet, trainable, healthy, and beautiful basenjis that the whole family can enjoy. I am always available to help my owners with questions. My first basenji led me to change my profession from high school teacher to dog trainer and groomer, and I opened a training, grooming and boarding facility all because of one naughty little basenji!

I bought my first basenji from the Phemisters after doing as much research as possible. I had read the “Saturday Evening Post” short story “Weep No More My Lady” in 8th grade and never forgot it.  The short story became “Good Bye My Lady,” both a book and movie, and I saw the basenji and fell in love! At the time, I had a German Shepherd and horses. However, years later, when I had a family and young children, my shepherd died and I wanted a smaller dog for my children. I researched medium-sized breeds. I didn’t want to deal with barking and hair shedding and I wanted a sturdy dog. I didn’t want a show dog (although I should have known that I had the show “bug” since I had shown dogs and horses before I was married), but I wanted to have a litter for my children, so I wanted a really good dog. How many of us start that way?

Even with all of my research I was not prepared for some of the antics of that first basenji! However, that was when I set my current goals. I wanted a basenji that could be a good pet first, and second, be healthy, and then, be beautiful. Since I was a Biology major in college, genetics was a subject I loved, and over the years I was surprised at some of the things determined by genetics, like basic temperament. I also learned how important early socialization is for all dogs, especially the basenji.

Please contact me if you are interested in owning one of my wonderful Mata Hauri basenjis.


Julia Bill and Holly

We welcome Julia Bill to our kennel. She helps with the dogs and is learning to show them but mostly gives them lots of attention. Julia came to us without knowing anything about basenjis or dog shows or even that I had multiple basenjis. She was in for a real shock but has been wonderful and a very quick learner with the help of Andrew Sawler and numerous basenji people. She has been introduced to training, showing and breeding basenjis in the last year and we hope to keep her long term.

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