Carol Vinzant is an editor at People Pets, an online pet division of People magazine. She’s also a fan of our boy Bo’s website and contacted him to do an interview.
Of course Bo was honored to have been chosen and was more than happy to share his story. He was kind enough to share the spotlight and let me answer a few questions.
Just two years ago PEOPLE Pets member Bo Hoefinger was a largely unknown chow/golden retriever whose wit was only appreciated by his family. Now he’s an Internet star. He writes one of the silliest dog blogs around called Bo Knows, He Just Doesn’t Listen, he’s got a book deal and he helped get his dad, Horst Hoefinger, a gig blogging for Dogster.com.
Horst Hoefinger, who has a day job working for a big corporation, first started writing in the voice of his dog Bo because he wanted to give a special gift to his wife, Lisa. So he put together a book of stories about Bo and gave it to her for Christmas in 2006. Not only did she love it but she spotted his talent for bringing Bo’s personality to life, got him an agent and helped him start his hit blog. Now Bo’s book Bad to the Bone is due to hit shelves in October, read a preview chapter online.
Horst says he sticks to the light stuff for Bo Knows, but last year he started writing For the Love of Dog Blog over at Dogster.com, where he tackles the heavier stuff: dogs who need homes, puppy mills, abuse, lack of legal protections of animals and the 4 million animals euthanized each year. He hopes to shed some light on the problems – and the people working to overcome them.
“It amazes and humbles me to know there are so many wonderful people out there doing selfless things to help animals, and expect nothing in return,” Horst says. “I just try to support their efforts.”
As for his success, Hoefinger is modest: “It just goes to show anybody can do it. Even a dog.”
*Read the full interview on People Pets
What wasn’t included in the interview was Bo’s response when asked if he knew he’s famous?
In the book there is a Q&A section where Bo is asked if he would change if he were to become famous. To which he replied, “I can’t see it affecting me. I would continue to be like any other dog; I’d put my fur suit on one paw at a time and go about my normal business. To all my friends, I’d continue to be Bobo from the block.”
