Bad to the Bone

Bad to the Bone: Memoir of a Rebel Doggie Blogger  by Bo Hoefinger
Published by Citadel Press Kensington
Trade paperback, $14.95

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.

Rating 3 of 5 stars