About Our Kennel

MZALIA is the Swahili word for "native" - so what an appropriate name for a kennel dedicated to the breeding of these remarkable little native African Dogs.

Mzalia Basenjis was founded in 1995 by Karen and David Hyland and is based in Two Wells, approximately 40 kilometres north of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia.

We are a small kennel, preferring to stay that way in order to give each of the dogs that we have the love and attention that they deserve. Our kids have spacious yards to run and play in during the day, and come inside in the evening so we can spend quality time with them.

We are proud to have bred basenjis that have been successful in the Show Rings around the country, not only for ourselves, but for other exhibitors as well - and many of our dogs are now proving themselves to be successful producers as well. We are also very excited about our recent exports to Norway.

But just as important to us, are all of the dogs we have placed in loving pet homes.

All of our breeding stock has recently taken part in the University of Missouri Fanconi DNA Linked Marker test, and we are delighted to announce that all of them have returned a Clear/Normal status for Fanconi.

Karen Hyland

During my childhood, I had several different dogs, ranging from ex-racing Greyhounds, to terriers, to Great Danes and even Irish Wolfhounds. But these were always the dogs of my parents choice, and not the curly-tailed little African imp that I had fallen in love with after first seeing him in a book as an 8 year old child.

Of course, once I had moved out of home and had a place of my own, one of the first things on the agenda was to get myself a Basenji, and in September 1994 my dream came true when my first Basenji - a wrinkly little 4 month old bitch puppy called Mlia came home to live with us. Only interested in keeping her as a pet, the show ring was the furthest thing from my mind at the time, but she soon changed all that and was the catalyst that started it all.

My how life has changed since then!

Committees and Positions of Office that I have held...

Other Significant Club and Association Memberships...

Life outside of the Dog World....

Luckily I am a person who like to keep busy, as I have many interests in life in addition to my dogs and the Dog World in General.

My other main love is motor racing. Having been brought up in a motor racing family, where my parents competed in various forms of the sport varying from karts to the Australian Formula Vee, Formula Ford and Formula 2 classes, it was only natural that I follow suit. At one time I even raced sprint karts myself, but the spiralling costs of my university education unfortunately put a stop to my time in karts.

My favourite form of motor sport is Formula 1, and I have only missed one Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix, since it first came to Australia in 1985 (because it was held the same weekend as the Victorian Basenji Specialty Show). Since 1996 I have had to travel to Melbourne - over 800 km away - to attend the race, but with the Basenji Club of Victoria Specialty Show usually held the weekend before the Grand Prix, it makes it easy for me to combine both of my loves.

On the local motor racing front, my favourite categories are the V8 Supercars, and historic racing. Whenever I can, I also like to participate in the V8Central and Atlas F1 forums.

Photography is another thing that I like to do with my limited spare time - in fact most of the photos on this site are ones that I have taken myself. I have also had many of my Formula 1 photos published on various web sites, including Santiago de Tezanos' Formula Prost site and Marc St.Louis' Jacques Villeneuve Fan Page, and in the print media in Germany via Klaus Ewald's Research Racing publication.

I have recently put the first of my motor racing photos on-line. Please click here to open a new window and have a look!

Having worked for over 20 years in the ICT and Training sectors, I recently established my own IT Consulting and Training business, where I provide training, project management and change management services to my clients.

I also have my own profile on MySpace. Please click here to visit my MySpace page!

David Hyland

Not only is David my husband, he is also my best friend and without his ongoing support, Mzalia Basenjis would never exist. David isn't really interested in the "Show Scene" (although he does seem to enjoy showing Magenta, Ryan or Whoopee) - he's just as happy to have a basenji to cuddle up with in front of the television. But he still comes to every show to help out, for which I am very grateful.

David also loves playing with basenji babies - until they get their teeth that is :)

Committees and Positions of Office David has held...

Life outside of the Dog World....

Like myself, David is also a motor racing nut. We actually met as a direct result of motor racing, both being Adelaide-based members of same English-based pen friends club, the Grand Prix Contact Club! So needless to say we both sit and watch all of the Grands Prix and motor racing broadcasts on the television.

David is employed as a software engineer for a large international Software Company.

Page Created: 31 December 1998 - Last Modified: 17 December 2007

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