Very few dog breeds have been bred and
exhibited in zoos. The author knows of only three, the Basenji, the
Dingo, and the New Guinea Singing Dog.
The first Basenji in a zoo was an import from
the Belgian Congo in the 1880's. His name was "Bosc" and
the Zoological Garden in Paris owned him. At that time the breed was
known as the Congo terrier.
Less than a quarter century later Basenjis were
imported from the Congo to the Berlin Zoo. The Germans called them
Congo dogs. A 1905 picture shows three of them. The exact date of
importation or any other information is not available because the zoo
lost it records during the Second World War. Susan Coe mentions in
her book, "The Basenji: Out of Africa to you", of a 1908
photo in the Illustrated Kennel News showing a Basenji bitch and her
daughter. The daughter had been bred at the Berlin Zoo.
"Bosc"
Reproduced from: Le Chenil
Kongo-Hunde, Berlin Zoo 1905
Photo by: Dr. O. Heinroth.
Kongo-Hunde photo reproduced from: Pariahunde by R. and R. Menzel. in: Die Neue Brehm-Bucherei; 267. Wittenberg Lutherstadt: A. Ziemsen, 1960. p. 64.