Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Hobo reviews a book

By Hobo Hudson

Dad had applied for a new library card the other day. While it was still lying unused on the coffee table in the living room, I grabbed it and, with my little red wagon in tow, I dashed off to the library. I wanted to find other kinds of books than Dad and Mom usually read, others than the rough and tough or the mushy ones. I was sure there were some kinds of books around that have more meat to them and were more aimed at the tastes we dogs have.

As I was ambling through the library book aisles, I spotted a picture on a book. OMD, I thought, what a handsome guy. Big and tall, overpowering two people sitting next to him in size, and full of shaggy hair, he seemed to be my kind of dog. I pulled the book out and skimmed through it. There were even more drawings of my new hero inside the book, showing his power and resolve. Without wasting any more time, I checked the book out, tossed it in my little red wagon and hurried back home to read it.

I snuggled with the book in my bed and read it all night, from the beginning to the end. It was just the book I had in mind written for us dogs. Its title is A dog’s Life, and apparently the dog, named Boy, who wrote the book, could not claim authorship—just as it is the case with my book—and had his dad, Peter Mayle, stand in for him.

The book is funny, sophisticated to match the thinking of us dogs and informative as how to live among humans. It’s a terrific story about a dog living in France whose humble upbringing resembles my own—Chapter 1 of my book tells about my early childhood—and who also found a couple who adopted him and allowed him to have a life fit for a king. To find out more about the book A Dog’s Life, click here.




Monday, April 15, 2013

Healthful dog treats, great ideas

By Hobo Hudson

I am always interested in the projects my friends and fellow dogs are doing, and when I get a whiff of it, I check it out. One of my doggy friends, Kolchak, spends his day working on a blog his mom has set up.

Kolchak is a blogger and the supervisor of his mom’s baking. His blog is about food and other topics that make life enjoyable and exciting. Needless to say, I’m intrigued and fascinated by his job. He posts articles about baking treats for us dogs, and the treats are not only scrumptious but also healthful. The recipes are easy to follow and require only a few ingredients. Kolchak also posts pictures of each of the treats on his blog, and just looking at them makes me drool. It would be really hard to decide which one to grab first and run off with before coming back for the next one.

I’m sure before Kolchak posts a recipe for a treat on his blog, he tastes the end product. Whoa, that would be a job for me. But Kolchak’s work doesn’t stop there. He also busies himself helping his mom to create and craft specialty items and to describe how to make everyday items by hand while having fun and saving money. Of course, he always makes sure his mom adds pictures to those products, too.

Kolchak has a lot of great stuff on his blog. Just see for yourself and trot over to Kol’s Notes at: http://www.kolchakpuggle.com/.


Monday, April 8, 2013

No evidence of a look-alike me



By Hobo Hudson

Critter Adoption and Rescue Effort (C.A.R.E.), our local no-kill animal shelter, a place where you want to end up if you ever get lost, was holding an off-leash pet fest in our town’s dog park last weekend. Mom went to it to report on it and to shoot photos, taking with her a notebook, a pen and a camera but not me. I begged her to let me come with her, but she said she wouldn’t be able to work having to keep a steady eye on me. I know I have some issues with big dogs. I always act preemptively toward them, expecting them to attack my mom. You can read all about it in my book The Richest Dog In Town, available at amazon.com.

Anyway, there was no arguing with Mom, and so, she went alone. Of course, without having me at her side, something had to happen to muddle up her mind. It never takes much to confuse Mom, and it didn’t surprise me when she told Dad she was sure she saw me stomping around the pet fest grounds. She said I looked as if I was on a mission, a mission to find her but didn’t recognize her. Then she noticed my tail, which was not my tail, and she became more and more confused. Finally, the dog she thought was me found his or her real mom, and they both took off.  

BOL, my mom can’t distinguish between her only doggy son and some other critter my size and color looking like a terrier mix! I rummaged through the photos Mom took at the pet fest but couldn’t find any dog who resembled me. I guess Mom was so shook-up that she forgot to preserve the evidence. Better for me that I remain one of a kind. 







 
Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Squirrel lollipops


By Hobo Hudson

Mom and Dad were eating supper, each one gnawing on an ear of corn as if it were truffle or caviar in disguise. Their blissful looks didn’t leave much to my imagination, and after I gobbled down the small chunks of ham, Dad had cut for me, I watched them finish biting off the last kernels. Making sure they swallowed them all right and didn’t choke on them, I asked, “Why do you both eat corn on the cob but feed my former squirrels employees plain corn kernels?”

“Well,” Dad said, wiping off his mouth, “it would be too expensive to feed all your employees part of our food. Just imagine how many ears of corn you would have to buy for all of them. Do you even know how many of your former employees come to your free cafeteria nowadays?”

Dad had a point there. I had gotten in the habit of not even looking at the cafeteria any more so that I don’t get tempted to give my former employees some exercise. While it would be good for them to sprint across the backyard and jump on the fence with me on their heels, I have decided to let them eat in peace and quiet.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun for the squirrels to have a whole ear of corn to nibble at, and I was sure they would love sucking on it like on a lollipop. I was also sure stores would sell whole ears of corn just for squirrels. The next time Dad stocked up on bird and squirrel food at the feed supply store, I went with him and sure enough, I found a bag of ears of corn intended for squirrels and bought it.

Dad put an ear of corn in the little compartment at the end of the bird feeder, and the squirrels fought each other to get the first bite. The bag of ears of corn I bought is more expensive than the bag of plain kernels, but it takes much longer for the squirrels to finish a whole ear. The loose kernels are always gone in a flash, but most of the time, the squirrels knock half of them into the grass and nobody, even the birds, wants to pick up the discarded corn.

Once again, I’m making my former employees happy while I’m on the winning side of the game.















Books

About Hobo


This was Hobo Hudson, my doggy brother, a little terrier mix with black fur. He became famous after his first attempt at writing stories, which was an article published in the newsletter of our local animal shelter, the same shelter in which I ended up years later before Hobo and his parents adopted me. Hobo’s fame quickly spread as he made a name for himself as a business dog and an adventurer. To keep his memory alive, my doggy sister, my three kitty siblings and I, Wylie Hudson, are continuing his blog. Our mom is the blog’s editor.

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