Hobo Hudson is our January 16, 2011 pup of the week

Some of us pups have very important events occur in our lives:  illness, parent's illness, natural disasters, near unnatural disaster, some do remarkable feats with their parents to help other pups or humans; some show great compassion; and some leave us for the bridge.

But then there are the dogs who are consistent.  No highs.  No lows.  They stay on an even keel.  Every day they are consistent in one thing:  They are there with a helpful paw, through thick and thin, illness and health.  They are like every paws older sibling, in this case, older brother.

That is why we gather here today to recognize the big brother to us all, Hobo Hudson.

Hobo is an American success story.  Born to a family of uncaring humans he was left tied to a tree for the early part of his life.  Each day he was passed by a gentleman.  Hobo gave his best poor, poor, pitiful me look until the man brought him into their home and they became best friends.  And his Mom, who is a real writer, because she gets paid for what she writes (every time you click on her column she is delivered a brand new shiny penny by the monkeys who work for her editor) has, with Hobo's help. written hundreds of helpful pup columns.

Hobo has also shown us that we can do more than just lay around the house.  Hobo is a puppy entrepreneur.  He always has a scheme to make millions of dollars:  the selling of excess bell peppers; a brilliant trading of peas for ham plan, and cucumbers for meatballs; a worm farm; an ill conceived but none the less brilliant idea for a steak tree; a scheme to win the lottery; a squirrel cafeteria; making a handsome profit in kibbles from selling his businesses; teaching us all the recipe for deep fried bugs; bravely discovering the wherebouts of the old DS castle; and publishing the history of the first Doggyspace vs Tanner Brigade war.

Then there is Hobo the devoted friend.  He was the lead pup in convincing the wonderful Hattie Mae clan to join us at the Brigade, when Ladybug first became ill he was there to fill us in when her Mom couldn't, right up to the time she went to the bridge; his pleas to help a poor dog names Soco who he had never even met; asking us to watch over Ladybug's Mom when she passed, offering to help with any pups looking to confuse their secret bub by having you send him the gifts and he will mail them with his postmark; and keeping us aware of the need to vote for Erin and me in the top 100 dog blog contest.,

Plus the countless wonderful articles he had inspired his Mom to do including the story of Freddy Girl and Sota  and her latest on how our parents should make sure that we are provided for in their wills so we don't become part of the "system."

Then there are the wonderful things he inspires his parents to do that you might not hear about.  He helped his parents send a beautiful bouquet of flowers to my Nana's funeral which meant so much to everyone in the Monster family,

He also started one of our most popular forum features "What's Your Town Like?" that drew 105 responses. If you haven't responded yet, you should.  You can also send him clues about your home town, he will post them, and we will try to guess which town it is.  If this was the Suite Life of Foley and Pocket on Deck then Hobo would be the cruise director.

While he goes to Doggy Camp he sends his parents out visit his Tanner Brigade friends.  They went and met Hattie Mae and came back home with Hattie Mae's scent all over them.  And Hobo got to smell it.  Imagine having parents kind enough to travel 1,000 miles just so we'd know what our friends smell like.  Why they are the ambassadors of scent.

Hobo was an important part of our lives when we were in The Castle.  He left shortly after Tanner and I did and was one of the founding fathers of the Brigade.  Pus he must have some bloodhound in him because there was no better dog at sneaking across enemy lines and bringing back their secrets so we could use them against our enemy.  A more brave and loyal dog you will never meet.  Plus, having Hobo exclusively on TB brought us more members.  Everyone loved Hobo at the castle, he was one of our first friends, and when he left they were more than happy to join this small new group knowing it must be the real deal if Hobo was here.

Whenever a new pup joins the Brigade, no matter how quickly I try to get there, when I arrive, there are Hobo's paw print, having already arrived and given our newest arrival a tour of our playground.

While Hobo has had many businesses, employing cats and squirrels (and having to put up with, literally, wild cat strikes when I wrote something that made the kitties picket), the true business that Hobo trades in is smiles.  There are seldom blogs or comments from him that do not bring a smile to all pups faces.

Now Hobo is not a fashion plate like Hattie Mae or Tabaatha, he does not advise us on our future like Shiloh, or travel the Northwest like Northwest Shiloh, he doesn't raid puppy mills like Puppy, he doesn't write about wild, semi-erotic adventures like me and Pocket, but he is the support that makes all that possible.  He is Sam in Lord of the Rings, the best friend who keeps pushing Frodo forward.  He is Louie to Rick in Casablanca, Trapper John to Hawkeye in M*A*S*H, Clyde Tolson to J. Edgar Hoover (hmmm....not sure of that one, Pocket is my chief researcher. 

I think every member of the Brigade counts Hobo as one of their closest friends.  We don't think we would have even attempted setting up a site like this without knooing we would have Hobo's wise council to count on.  He is our Tom Hayden, our Benjamin Franklin, our wise council.

So, while Hobo never seeks the spotlight, for today, and this week, no matter how much he shies from it, it is on him because Hobo Hudson is our much deserved pup of the week.