How Well do you Know Boo the Dog? Here’s the Full Story
Boo the Pomeranian was born March 16, 2006 just an ordinary dog destined to live a life that’s all but ordinary in dog terms. The San Francisco native carries the title of world’s cutest dog, all because of his sweet face and a little help from Facebook. The barking internet sensation became famous after his sweet face was given its own Facebook page and celebrities from Hollywood began to take notice of the cutie, bringing attention to him from all over the world.
When Boo the dog was 4-years-old, his owner, an employee of Facebook from San Francisco, created a Facebook page for Boo – whether it was for her job is unknown. The statement Boo made on his Facebook page was simple. “My name is Boo. I am a dog. Life is good,” was his account information and his “About Me,” statement. It was in October 2010 that famed singer Ke$ha saw the dog online and tweeted that the pup was her new boyfriend. She linked to Boo’s Facebook page in her tweet and it was from that point forward that Boo became a complete celebrity. It wasn’t long before celebrities such as Khloe Kardashian were calling him the cutest dog on the planet and launching him further into fame and success.
Part of the success of Boo is the fact that much of Boo’s life remains a mystery. Despite the fact that Boo uses Facebook on a regular basis, people want to know more. They want to know where in San Francisco the dog lives. They want to know more about Buddy, the other dog that lives with Boo and his mysterious owner. They want to know about the little red booties that Boo and Buddy wear when they take a walk around their neighborhood, and they want to know why no one knows who Boo’s owner is despite the fact that she posts photos of Boo and Buddy all over the world. It remains dog lover’s biggest mystery: Who is Boo’s owner and how can she travel the world with her two very obvious and very famous Pomeranian dogs without anyone taking notice of the fact that someone is strolling through the airport with the world’s most famous, and most adorable, dog?
Anyone who Google’s any phrase similar to “world’s cutest dog,” is going to see Boo’s name as their first search result. It’s not something that can be changed. The world has spoken and Boo is the cutest dog in existence. Over the past four years, others have tried to create the same fame for their own dogs and cats, but it simply hasn’t happened to anyone else – with the exception of Grumpy Cat, however. Being the world’s cutest dog is a big job for Boo, and his story is fascinating.
Boo’s Rise to Success
Less than a year after he first rose to fame as the cutest dog in the world – according to a Kardashian – Boo was approached by a publishing company to become the subject of a new book series. It was August 2011 when Chronicle Books approached Boo’s owner after noticing that the cute pup had more than 5 million likes on Facebook. The publishing company asked if they could create a picture book starring Boo. His owner quickly agreed to write the book and use a pen name to keep her identity sacred. From that point on, Boo’s owner began going by the ghost name, J.H. Lee, and “Boo: The Life of the World’s Cutest Dog,” the picture book was created. Boo’s owner has wished to remain anonymous, and it wasn’t until nearly 2 years after Boo shot to fame that someone figured out she was a Facebook employee and outed her as one – though her true identity is still unknown.
The success of the book was staggering. It was so successful that the publishing company produced the book in more than 10 different languages across the world. They also followed it up with a second book by the title, “Boo: Little Dog in the Big City,” and his fame continued to grow from that point forward.
It wasn’t long before the publishing company created a calendar featuring photos of Boo and made plans to publish a Boo cut-out book as well as making him the main character in a host of other children’s books. He even received his own Gund stuffed animal, which is a dog’s way of knowing he’s made it to the highest possible level of success.
Once his book fame was made public, Virgin America executives approached Boo’s owner and asked him to sign a contract as the new spokesdog for the airline. Boo went to work for Virgin America, serving as the face of the airline for passengers wanting to travel with their own pets. Boo’s face appears in Virgin America planes in photos along with advice for pet owners traveling with their own dogs and cats on any Virgin America flight. In July 2012, Virgin America named Boo their official Pet Liaison.
These jobs are not the only ones Boo gets to claim. He’s become the most sought-after doggie model in the world. He’s modeled for an online boutique called Tobi, as well as Operation Smile. For this gig with Operation Smile, he posed for a few photos to raise money for the charity.
The Price of Fame
Boo has seen tremendous fame since becoming the world’s cutest dog, and with fame comes a price. Even for dogs who don’t seem to mind the paparazzi so much, there are cons to being the world’s most adorable pup. Back in April 2012, the world went into a frenzy when it was announced via Facebook that Boo had died. Someone whose identity remains a mystery posted the phrase #RIPBOO to Facebook, prompting a writer by the name of Sam Biddle from Gizmodo to tweet the world that Boo had passed away. Chronicle Book staff immediately released a statement denying the rumors and confirming that Boo was, in fact, alive and well and at home with his mysterious owner.
Boo on Facebook
Facebook is one of the most popular social media websites in the world, and has millions of active users on a daily basis. Boo is one of those active members. His profile is public. His profile photo currently features a photo of him with one of his “Brother” Buddy, and his cover photo is of him sitting beneath a park bench with a woman with tights-clad legs and a trench coat, as well as his Buddy. His Facebook page shows that more than 15.39 million people like him, which is impressive. This number makes him even more popular than many celebrities, celebrity children and even big name brands.
Boo’s human posts information and photos of him on Facebook all the time, giving his fans the opportunity to see his sweet face and his very adorable hair cut. He’s a Pomeranian with a very short cut, which is not usual, but it’s part of what makes him so popular with the rest of the world. His Facebook photos have prompted tee-shirt makers to ask Boo’s mysterious owner if the dog would kindly pose for photos so that they could make shirts featuring his face, to which she happily allowed the dog to do.
In recent years, it’s been speculated that Boo’s owner actually goes by the name of Irene Ahn, a woman that works in a very prestigious position in the Facebook finance department. However, she’s never confirmed that she is the owner of Boo. In fact, she has never said anything about Boo. Even when her adorable pup was featured on Good Morning America, his owner stayed out the camera and off to the side so as to keep her identity a secret. The information about Ahn came from two tipsters allegedly also working for Facebook, and they also added to the fact that they believe Ahn is the owner by saying that she was creative enough to grow Boo’s fame and popularity on her own, using some of her Facebook intel and trickery. Whether or not this is true is probably always going to remain a mystery. However, it does lead fans to wonder whether or not Boo would have gained such popularity on his own without his human allegedly using her connections at Facebook to make him seem more popular than he really is.
What we do know about Boo’s owner is the fact that she will do whatever it takes to remain a mystery. Boo’s publicist at Chronicle Books, April Whitney, stated back in 2012 that Boo’s owner never sought fame and fortune for her adorable dog. She simply created a Facebook page and what happened, happened. Whitney also went on to say that she and her company contacted Boo’s mysterious owner when the dog had somewhere around 60,000 likes on his Facebook page, and that she never contacted the publishing company. Whitney does say that it’s not common for authors to get rich publishing their books, but that Boo was a special case.
Photo Source: Facebook