“You’ll laugh, you’ll howl, you’ll practically wag with pleasure….Bo is truly the voice of his doggy generation” – Dr. Marty Becker

“Witty commentary and hilarious observations.”—Dog Living

“A real treat. Bo is so distinctively adorable and funny, that no other dog will be able to follow in his pawsteps”- Tracie Hotchner

Let’s get this clear right away: I’m a dog.

I’m 1′10″ and weigh 63 lbs, and although I’m a mutt on the outside, I’m a purebred on the inside. My good nature comes from the Golden Retriever side of the family, while my stubbornness is clearly from my Chowchow bloodlines. I’ve got Rastafarian ears, a black tongue for licking, and paws that should be on a dog twice my size.

I type 60 words a minute.

My name is Bo, and this is my story.

From shelter dog reject to beloved pet and popular doggie blogger, Bo Hoefinger’s life has been anything but ordinary.

Join this incorrigible canine as he welcomes us into his life, complete with his wacky “parents,” a constipated feline housemate, and chipmunk warfare. Bad to the Bone is an unforgettable, laugh-out-loud tale of love and loyalty that reveals the true heart of a modern American family.

A frequent contributor to local fence post 12, Bo continues his nonprofit work with the Beneath the Fence Society. In his spare time he dabbles in knocking over garbage pails, barking uncontrollably, and generally being a helpful force around the house.

He lives in Atlanta.

Grab a copy of BAD TO THE BONE for yourself and then a few for your dog loving friends. Can you think of a better gift for a dog lover than a book written by a dog? The holidays will be here before you know it and Bo thinks every dog in America, and beyond, should wake up x-mas morning to find a copy of his book in their stocking. It also works well as a gift for Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, Bo doesn’t discriminate against any breed or holiday.

Bo’s book is now available, you can order online at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, BooksaMillion.com, indieBound.org, borders.com, or your favorite retailer. Spread the word to all your pup pals so they can get themselves a copy of the first memoir written by a dog ever published in non-fiction.

A big thank you goes out to the fine folks at Dogster HQ’s for all their support and help. A note of gratitude to all the Dogsters out there who believed in us and wanted to see a book written through a dog’s eyes, it’s you guys that helped make this happen.

Thank you to all!

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Ever wonder if karma plays a role in life?  You know, do something bad and something bad will happen to you.

Take, for instance, yesterday. I knew I needed to clean out the turd-laden kitty litter box but put it off. Later, when it was time to feed the kids (Bo, Copper and Logan), I came upon a nice wet poo of the feline variety. Moose sat in the corner with a look that said, “Take that!”

When I went to throw the kitty litter box into the garbage bag, I misjudged it and dumped the whole shebang on the floor.  Hey, I had it coming.

So I was happy to see that it goes the other way too.

What follows is a touching tale of a lost dog, a found family and karmic payback.

PORT TAMPA, Fla. — Yolanda Segovia heard a knock on her door one morning, just before 8 a.m.

Her neighbor was on the porch, with a dog and a story.

Stacey Savige had found the little dog in front of an elementary school. He wasn’t very big, looked like some sort of terrier. Burrs clung to his belly. His honey fur was caked in mud.

He didn’t have a collar. Stacey had taken him to the vet and he didn’t have a chip, either.

Now Stacey had to go to work. Could Yolanda keep him?

“You can leave the dog here,” Yolanda told Stacey. “But just for today.”

They took photos of the dog and made a FOUND flier. Stacey ran off 4,000 color copies. She and Yolanda stuffed mailboxes, put ads on Craigslist.

Yolanda took her boys to the dollar store and bought a collar, leash, ball and brown bed. Her 10-year-old, Azaiah, decided to call the dog RaeLee, pronounced “Riley.” He said he had heard it on TV. All afternoon, he walked the dog, threw the ball, laughed while the dog licked his face.

“Don’t fall in love with him,” Yolanda kept warning.

Her elder son, Christian, 21, watched through the window. Christian has Down syndrome and an array of other ailments. He has had heart surgery, a kidney transplant. He can’t speak or bathe himself.

That night, when the boys climbed into their bunk beds, the dog dragged his new bed from Yolanda’s living room, down the long hall, into their room.

Four days later, they still had the dog. He was starting to answer to his new name.

He loved roughhousing with Azaiah, knew to be gentle with Christian. He almost never barked.

On Saturday, Azaiah went to his dad’s house. Christian retreated to his room to watch a Barney video. The dog dozed beside him.

Yolanda had just stepped onto her porch to water the plants when the dog flung himself into the screen door, barking madly.

As she opened the door, the dog sprinted across the living room, into the boys’ room.

Yolanda screamed. Christian was slumped over, his body writhing in a seizure, blood streaming from his nose and mouth.

The dog ran to the boy, still yelping. But as soon as Yolanda bent to cradle her son, the dog went silent.

“If he hadn’t come to get me,” Yolanda told Stacey later, “the neurologist said Christian would have choked on his own blood and died.”

Since no one had claimed the dog, Yolanda decided to keep him.

You’ll have to read the rest at this link to find out how this story ends. Let’s just say I could roast marshmallows on my heart right about now.

Photo courtesy of the Associated Press.

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I know many of us know our dogs are veritable Einsteins, what with all the shenanigans they pull. I know my three are, with Mothball our cat scoring a  mere Hawking on that scale.

A recent study performed on dog intelligence has proven what we already know – the average dog is on par with that of a two and a half year old . . . human.

The Telegraph has the details on the study along with the top ten brightest and dimmest breeds.

Researchers have found that dogs are capable of understanding up to 250 words and gestures, can count up to five and can perform simple mathematical calculations.

Using tests originally designed to demonstrate the development of language, pre-language and basic arithmetic in human children, the researchers were able to show that the average dog is far more intelligent than they are given credit for.

“The average dog is about as bright linguistically as a human two-year-old,” said Professor Stanley Coren, a leading expert on canine intelligence at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver who has carried out the work.

“This means they can understand about 165 words, signs and signals. Those in the top 20 per cent were able to understand as many as 250 words and signals, which is about the same as a two and a half year old.

I know the first 15 words that Bo learned. Just insert any of the following into Bo wanna go for a —-? [ride, drive, excursion, expedition, hitch, jaunt, joyride, lift, outing, run, spin, tour, transportation, turn or whirl]

Of course there’s always R – I – D – E. I don’t know whether that counts for four words or just one. Let’s just say the average Dogster out there already knows their canines are brighter than a baby. This is true even if Fido likes to eat cat poop.

Any stories out there that shows how brilliant your pup is?

Pic is of smart Dogster member Maximillian the Trickster.

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I usually focus on dog related news, but when I came across a heartwarming cat rescue story I had to share.

A firefighter rescued a cat from a burning house and gave it back one of its lives by performing mouth-to-mouth.

Al Machado rescued the cat from a burning apartment in Massachusetts on Tuesday, and told The Standard Times of New Bedford that he saw immediately that it needed air. Machado began performing mouth-to-mouth on the animal as he carried it outside.

Two trapped dogs were also rescued. To help save them they were given oxygen by the paramedics and animal rescue workers.  Although no people were injured in the fire two other cats died.  A couple, thought to be responsible for the fire, were arrested and charged with arson.

Machado was asked what it tasted like to give mouth-to-mouth to a cat.  He replied “‘Like fur.”  If I was a betting man I would have guessed his reply would have been “Like chicken.”

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Lisa and I recently lost our cat, Moose, after 16 years.  We got her about five months after we got Bo because we thought he needed company when we were at work.

They got along great, running and playing together like the best of buds. When we got Copper, years later, she also fell in love with Moose.  She used to follow her everywhere and would actually lick her face.  I think Copper believes she’s a cat.

After Moose passed Lisa swore we would never get another cat.  No, not because we don’t love cats, but because Moose had a constipation issue for the last 13 years.  It was so bad that one of the chapters in Bo’s book, Unleashed: Memoirs Of A Man’s Best Friend (Kensington Books, Oct ‘09) is called Enema Of The State.

Last week all that changed after Lisa found a cat on our sister site, Catster, and fell in love with Sunshine. On Saturday we picked her up and when we got her home Copper looked like it was Christmas.  She was so excited that she was going to have a new kitty buddy.  Unfortunately, Sunshine had other ideas and poor Copper got a big swat on the nose.  I’m sure they’ll eventually work it out.

As I was reading the news this morning I came across an article on a study that was done by Israeli researchers on the relationship between cats and dogs.

Tel Aviv University researchers said they found two-thirds of the homeowners they surveyed reported a positive relationship between their cats and dogs.

“This is the first time anyone has done scientific research on pets living in the same home,” Joseph Terkel of the department of zoology at Tel Aviv University said in a statement. “It’s especially relevant to the one-third of Americans who own a pet and are thinking about adopting a second one of the opposite species.”

Approximately 200 pet owners were used in the study. After analyzing the data the researchers concluded that cats and dogs can live together peacefully. Although, it was found that there were better results when the cat is adopted first and both animals are young.

Hmmm…I should have read this about a week ago.   There is hope things might settle down in our house, and peace will resume,  because  according to Terkel “cats and dogs learn how to talk each others language–or read each others body cues.”

That does seem to be true,  right now that big swat to Copper’s nose is coming through loud and clear.

Any Dogsters that have a dog and cat give us a bark, or meow, to share your story.

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It’s always nice to see Dogster and its members in the news. This weekend the Boston Globe had an article about virtual gifts in the online social networking world.  You know virtual gifts; they’re the balls, paws and chicken hats we all love to give to each other.

Joni Gleason of Haverhill spends about $100 a year on gifts for her pet-loving friends. But the gifts can’t be held or wrapped. They can’t even be seen unless her friends are online.

As a member of Dogster.com, Gleason, 62, sends fellow dog owners virtual candles and angel wings when their pets get sick or die. When Gleason feels playful, she sends virtual squirrels or, one of Dogster’s newer gift options, a can of Spam.

It’s an interesting read about the trend toward virtual gifts in the online world.

As you can imagine, some people don’t necessarily agree they have any value at all.  Ted Rheingold, Dogster’s founder, responded to that argument by stating in the article:

“They may not be something you can hold in your hand, but the sentiment that comes with giving or receiving, is the same sentiment.”

I agree. The point naysayers are missing is that social networks consist of people who are connected by a shared purpose.

In our case, it’s the cute, lovable and nutty creatures that run our lives. Just because the gifts we give online don’t have physical properties, doesn’t change the feelings associated with giving and receiving them. What better way to know someone is thinking of you than receiving a Boo Boo Bandaid when your dog is ill?  Isn’t there value in that gesture? I think so.

Now, if you’ll pardon me, I have a few SPAM hats to give away.

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Want to help out some needy dogs but don’t really have the time? Well here’s an easy way to contribute to the well being of our canine friends that will take less than a minute .

Just visit http://www.freekibble.com, answer the daily Bow Wow Trivia question and 20 pieces of kibble are automatically donated to an animal shelter. Don’t worry, if you’re trivia challenged like me, you don’t even have to get the answer right in order for your donation to count.

It’s a great idea that surely came from a grizzly veteran of the online wars, right? Wrong. This idea was created by an eleven year-old girl, Mimi Ausland, from Oregon who modeled the site after http://www.freerice.com that donates rice to the UN World Food Program. What a smart, compassionate young lady!

So please, click on the link and help a dog in need today. While you’re at it, give some love to the kitties too at http://www.freekibblekat.com.

Thanks for helping out some needy pups and kitties, and making a little girl’s dream of helping our fuzzy friends come true.

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So I was on the main Dogster.com page this morning and noticed the Bissell Pet Games Video Contest.  I clicked on it and to my horror I found out the winning videos for the first two weeks were cats.  Cats, people!

This is a call to arms for all you canine lovers with video cameras out there. Get famous plus give $10K to a charity of your choice, courtesy of Bissell by submitting the best video ever.

This week’s entries aren’t anything to write home about either, so it isn’t like I’m asking you to run an agility course. Heck, I think a video of a dog sleeping might be a winner.

Now, go get that camera and catch your dog doing something goofy!!

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As those of us in America celebrate our country’s independence today, we need to be cognizant of the effect  fireworks have on our beloved pets. The newspaper Deseret has a good article on the subject.  Here’s an interesting tidbit on the effect of the loud booms and bangs that I never considered.

In most normal five-day stretches during the summer last year, his shelter would pick up about 66 stray cats and 70 stray dogs. But he said that in the five days surrounding July 4, it picked up 90 cats and 95 dogs – or 36 percent more than normal. “We always see big increases around July Fourth, and the same thing happens again around the 24th,” he said, adding that other cities in the county and state report the same.

It makes sense that dogs and cats would try to get away from all that noise. Fortunately the article also give advice on how to minimize their anxiety.

Doug Poindexter, president of the World Wide Pet Industry Association, said, “There are number of tips we have to try and help minimize stress by pets. First, bring your pets inside. Keep them in a room that is as sound resistant as possible” and then play music or the television there to drown out noise from fireworks.

Read the full article to find out all the tips they give and make this the calmest 4th for your pet ever.

Happy 4th of July!!

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Security. It’s all the rage in this internet age and can be a thorn in one’s side.

Take for instance the verification code that you have to enter to gain access to a lot of sites, just to prove you aren’t a robot. You know the codes I’m talking about. They’re the ones that are all warped and wavy making it difficult to discern a 0 with an o or an I with a 1.

Now there’s a better solution.

Asirra stands for Animal Species Image Recognition for Restricting Access. Basically it’s an HIP [verification process] that requires you to differentiate photos of cats and dogs, a task that is nearly impossible for even the most sophisticated bots.

The cool thing about this technology isn’t really the technology but the fact that Microsoft Research has partnered with Petfinder.com to serve up pictures of the more than three million photos of cats and dogs available for adoption. A user is required to select all the pictures that are dogs (or cats) in order to gain access to the site. What’s really great is that each picture has a link to the animal’s petfinder.com adoption page. So now you can get verified and help place a pet at the same time!

You can read all about it here or go to the Asirra home page to find out more.

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