Bo Hoefinger

Books about dogs are a huge trend now, with many of them on the bestseller lists. I am a dog lover; we had Malcolm, a beautiful basset hound, for seven blessed years, so I admit I'm a sucker for dog books.

Bad to the Bone: Memoir of a Rebel Doggie Blogger tells the story of Bo the dog, through his eyes and words. It started as a blog, BoKnowsOnline.com, and he also posts on Dogster.com.

The book started as a Christmas gift for Bo's "mom" from Bo's "dad", and after people suggested it would make a good book, it came to be.

The book is cute, and there are several humorous passages. Bo goes to work with Dad on a Saturday, and Bo describes the event as if he were working at the office himself. (My husband used to take Malcolm to work, so this vignette amused me.) Bo says:
"I had read in Business Week that companies value employees more if they show leadership skills, so decided to initiate an exchange of ideas. I raised my leg as high as it could reach and left my first business message, right on the cubicle wall located by the entrance."

Bo was fired shortly after that incident.

Bo discusses his "dad's" inability to give good presents to his "mom". Mom got Dad a watch for his first gift and he got her a sweatshirt with Opus the penguin on it. Dad got Mom a vacuum cleaner for Valentine's Day and even though she returned it, for Christmas he got her a Roomba. Dad is a slow learner.

Mom is not a good driver, and Bo's description of how she got her car stuck on top of a wall is pretty hilarious. I'm glad dogs can't talk, because if they could, imagine all the awful (true) things they'd tell their parents about each other.

Bad to the Bone brought back many sweet, funny memories for me of my dog. I laughed out loud several times reading about Bo's adventures. The only criticism I have about the book is the over-reliance on scatological stories. We know that dogs and cats can be gross, and there were a few too many stories about elimination for my taste.… (més)

Bo, the author of this book claims to be 1'10” and 63 pounds of mutt outside, purebred inside. His memoir mostly covers his life after being adopted from a doggie prison, more of a revenge adoption than a well planned decision. It's okay though; it all worked out. Well, except for Rudy, Rocky, and other unnamed creatures. Not that there weren't some difficult times, but together, the family, all of them, weathered them.

This is a feel-good book, great for laughs, for cheering up, for entertainment, for the pure fun of it. And it's good for showing the many great things about caring for a dog, and the amount of patience it is going to take to survive those great things.

Bo, if you read this, you might want to know that not all humans are quite as interested in poo in its various forms as dogs are. Sure, it is a fascinating subject, but a little poo goes a long way. Quite literally, in the case of Moose. And you might try smiling a little more in some of your photos. I know that you want to be taken seriously as a writer, but there is nothing like a toothy golden/chow/unknown smile to make people feel good.

I especially loved your answer to the next-to-last question in your Q and A section.

And on behalf of Bo, I'd like to emphasize: if you want to have a great dog (or cat or other adoptable creature) and you have the patience for some Bo-like adventures, adopt one from a shelter or rescue group. Money can buy love.

Thanks to Tara and thanks to Bo for signing my book.… (més)

This is a 'non-fiction' book "authored" by the writer's dog, Bo. Immediately upon starting this book I had several problems - the first of which was the complete anthropomorphism of Bo. Rather than getting a glimpse into Bo's inner thoughts, we have totally human thoughts foisted onto a dog. Bo refers to the humans he lives with as "Mother" and "Father". Bo's thoughts are full of bathroom jokes and references to licking one's self.

For me, this book was trite and irritating, cover-to-cover. With so many great fabulous doggy books out there, this one should be skipped.… (més)

This is actually a six star book! I love Bo, the golden retriever/chow mix who wrote this book. I wish I could hug him! Here is how he signed my book my book, "Carol, Never judge a dog by the kind of book covers he chews. I hope you enjoy my 'tail'! Woof Woof, Bo Hoefinger".
Bo gets adopted from a shelter by his mother and father and shares his view of the messes that humans, he and the other animals in this family get into. I really love the fact that he realizes that humans sometimes do stupid things too! With that going on it doesn’t keep him from loving his mother and father with all of his great big heart.
He does remind us that there are many overpowering smells in this world. He does get a little involved in poop and farts, but if you think about it, that is probably important to dogs, so it fits. He has his favorite foods, people and times of day. He loves games although his mother and father sometimes don’t figure them out. He knows what is important to a dog.
Bo threw in charts and lists of what is important to him. He even has a game of “Canine Bingo”. Plenty of lovely pictures of him adorn this book. This isn’t a cutsey book that ends with the dog dying; this is a walk through life with a dog at your side.
I challenge people to read this book and see if they don’t love Bo too! Bo dedicated this book to the shelter workers and gave 10% of the proceeds to help other homeless dogs and cats.… (més)