Mornings with Barney: The True Story of an Extraordinary Beagle
Syndicated humor columnist Wolfsie pens an insightful and delightfully unsentimental biography of his dog, Barney, who became a legendary figure in central Indiana. When Wolfsie was a television feature reporter during the 1970s, he awoke one morning to the sounds of a howling stray beagle. After taking him in—and coming home from work to find that the dog had shredded a good deal of his house—Wolfsie began taking the newly named Barney to work with him, where his on- and off-set antics became the hit of the show, leading to a new "human/canine team" whose adventures lasted for more than a decade (the station management especially liked it when Barney, on-air, relieved himself on a competing station's advertising). Barney appeared at schools and state fairs, fulfilling the mission that Wolfsie describes as the unique ability "to touch lives." In the end, while it is deeply moving when Barney dies, it is sadder still—for both author and reader—as Wolfsie cogently observes how corporate cutbacks in news operations have ended the era when such features as the onscreen antics of a lovable beagle were an integral part of local newscasts.(Feb.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.