Site map Email
Major George Richards
Basenjis: The Barkless Dog
by Veronica Tudor-Williams
"First, we have Major George Richards, of the Sudan Defense Force, who bred Basenjis
for many years in the South Sudan in the 1920’s and has always been an acknowledged
expert and judge. Major Richards’s complaint was that we were breeding them too big
(over 20 pounds) and that their coats were too heavy in England."
“Since about 1920, Major George Richards, M.C., had kept Basenjis, or, as he knew them,
Zande dogs, as pets in the Sudan. Upon his return to England, he decided to bring a pair with
him, to ensure a supply of his favourite breed. He was one of the unlucky ones, as his black
and white dog was bitten by a jackal just before leaving Egypt, and died of septicaemia in the
Mediterranean. The little tri-colour bitch, Nyanabiem survived quarantine, and when shown
she was greatly admired for her wonderful coat and exceptionally fine, dainty type. Her death,
two years later, from an enlarged spleen caused by malaria was a severe loss to the breed".