Khufu Starkist Semjase (Asha)
Ch. Oh Jay x Azenda Skarabee of Khufu
b. 25 December 1991
 

Asha has had a show career in two parts.  Suffering a terrible burn on her "show side" at the age of only 2 weeks, it seemed she would not be the new show dog I was looking forward to.  She came from a litter of only two, and although I was offered her brother instead I stuck to my original decision to keep her.  The scar from her accident ran the entire length of her left side and I made the decision not to show her, but by the age of 5 months I started to train her "just in case".  She eventually made her debut at Darlington 1992 at the age of 9 months as we couldn't leave her outside in the car while showing Kas, and we were en route to a holiday cottage.  She came second in the puppy bitch class and qualified for Crufts.

At Crufts 1993 she won her class and slipped seamlessly into the dog show lifestyle.  Judges were divided about the scar.  Some ignored it and at Manchester that year she won the RCC, but others took a different view and put her down the line.  By the time she was two years old she had hit the glass ceiling, and though she could win classes she was passed over for the major awards.  I recognised that she could go no further and content with the unexpectedly good run she had enjoyed up to that point I retired her.

She was mated to Embeau Alpha (later Ch.) and in 1994 produced a summer litter of three dogs and one bitch.  I kept the bitch (Bushwacker Mexicali Rose) who proved to be a good courser and racer, though not what I wanted for the show ring.  Consequently she had a short show career and I concentrated on handling her brother Bushwacker Django, who won very well as a puppy, including the CC at Bath championship show at the age of 10 months.  A second brother, Bushwacker Viva Zapata, made only a handful of appearances at shows over a period of 3 years but was my choice of stud dog for the 2002 litter, a mating I hope to repeat.

In her five years away from the ring Asha had two litters, the second sired by her half-brother Khufu Far Winds.  Daughter Bushwacker Sioux City Sue has presented them with 9 grandchildren so far.  Asha returned to the ring aged seven, to try her luck in veteran classes and in her four years of veteran competition has enjoyed great success.  As well as numerous best veteran awards at club shows, she has appeared in three veteran classes at Crufts, winning them all - the last in 2003 when she was the oldest Basenji competing.  In her veteran career she held her own against the youngsters, winning reserve best bitch at a BOBA club show in 2002, and the CC at the Houndshow 2001 under breed specialist Christine Rix, who thought highly enough of Asha to buy a puppy (her double-granddaughter) two years later.  Asha retired aged 11 and a half in July 2003 after winning BVIS at the Northern Basenji Society championship show.

March 1993

Photo: Russell Fine Art

March 2002

Pedigree
For more photos of Asha click here