Skokie Canine Makes No Bones About Celebrity Status

Boomer, a West Highland Terrier, may lead a quiet and unassuming life in Skokie. On YouTube, however, he is a canine celebrity, recently topping 1 million viewers from across the globe.

Boomer is also my dog, and when not watching television, he enjoys long walks, chasing bunnies and making sure the kitchen floor is free of crumbs.

Boomer’s fame is the result of an unusual habit for dogs--he enthusiastically watches television. His favorite channel is Animal Planet, and his most famous YouTube video--which features him jumping up and barking at some of the world’s funniest animals--reached 1 million views on Wednesday. 

The video, which was originally posted in March 2007, became extremely popular about a year ago. 

“It now gets around 2,500 to 3,000 hits day. Boomer is especially popular in Europe, where he’s had 350,000 viewers,” said my wife, Andi Rosen, a Skokie resident and Boomer's proud owner.

Boomer, who is 11-years-old, also enjoys Curb Your Enthusiasm, Jeopardy, The Colbert Report and several other TV shows.  One might wonder how Boomer came to be such a television addict.

I personally blame his television habit on my two sons--Alex, 22, and Eric, 17--who wanted to get out of walking him during the cold Chicago winters. “They could point to the fact that he was getting plenty of exercise by jumping at the screen,” she said.

In addition to his YouTube fame, Boomer’s television viewing landed him an appearance on the Comedy Central channel last fall. That was when a Colbert Report producer noticed several YouTube videos featured dogs enamored with the show, and produced a segment featuring Boomer and other pets. 

Click here to see Boomer watching himself on The Colbert Report.

Boomer is also a frequent visitor to the Skokie Pooch Park.