The busiest dog in town The busiest dog in town (January 06, 2006)

Downtown icon celebrates 10th birthday
by Rebecca Guyon

Since moving to Pleasanton, Bosco Hewitt has become one of the most familiar faces downtown. It could be because there are not many other Black Labradors who hold down a 9-5 office job. Bosco is one of the few who can pull it off, spending most of his days in the office of the Pleasanton Downtown Association, delivering interoffice mail, greeting the mailman and doing general public relations duties as the PDA mascot. On Dec. 29, this beloved downtown dog celebrated his 10th birthday--making him 70 in human years--and he still has the energy of a dog half his age.

"What's amazing is the number of people that walk by both the office and on the street and say 'Hi Bosco' and I have no clue who they are," said Frances Hewitt, Bosco's guardian. When Hewitt joined the PDA as office manager in 1999, then-Executive Director Craig Scharton suggested she bring Bosco with her to the office, thinking it would be a great stress reliever and a lot of fun to have a dog around. Well, he was right. Bosco quickly became a favorite among the staff and the PDA's associates. In 2000, the connection was sealed when Bosco was named the PDA's official mascot.

"The number of people who come by our office solely to say 'hi' to him is incredible," Hewitt said. "We even have PDA board members who never come into the office without special 'dog treats' for Bosco."

Believe it or not, Bosco's work at the PDA isn't his first job. When Hewitt worked for the Oregon Graduate Institute, he joined her there, too, and eventually became the Admissions Department's official greeter. From the beginning, Bosco was destined for greatness, but no one thought it would manifest in office work. Frances and her husband Don Hewitt bought Bosco from a breeder in Bend, Ore. who was known in the Pacific Northwest for breeding excellent hunting dogs. Don is an avid hunter, which is why he wanted a Lab. In fact, Bosco comes from a long line of field hunting dogs. Bosco still loves to hunt and despite the pressures of his job, he makes sure to find time to go out hunting with Don.

When not hunting or working, Bosco does volunteer work. He is a pet therapy dog for the Valley Humane Society, visiting nursing homes in Pleasanton and Livermore. He also takes part in the Pleasanton Public Library's "Paws to Read" program, where children of all ages read books to dogs.

It's hard to believe that any dog, let alone a 10-year-old dog, could be busier than most humans. But Bosco proves that age is just a number and species is just a state of mind when it comes to doing what you love.

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