I'd like to take the opportunity to thank Lisa for starting this blog for what I hope will be an excellent discussion. I've found that the more I learn about Basenjis, the more curious I've become about what exactly constitutes a Basenji. I've read so many theories, anecdotes and intriguing stories about the origin of the breed that I decided one approach that appealed to me was to start with a very basic definition. What is a breed? That is not the easiest question to answer. There are multiple ways to define a breed, and I thought that Drs. Sponenberg and Bixby use of the term as Lisa mentioned, makes sense. As noted by Drs. S and B, "This definition implies an agreement among a group of breeders about the characteristics that define the breed."

Although the focus of the book is on livestock, not dog breeds, nonetheless the thoughtful analyses present throughout the text applies to dogs, and certainly to the ancestral homelands of the Basenji. We know from other recent research that Basenjis are a unique breed of dog, one of the oldest know breeds to humans. Their ancestral homelands are changing rapidly. What effect will this have on Basenjis in their native lands? What changes have occurred because we have removed them from their native environment? Can we preserve the Basenji?