The Littlest Hobo Book Project

Hello everyone!

Here's a basic introduction to the project. I've noticed that there's very little out there on the web about Charles P. "Chuck" Eisenmann, owner and trainer of the dogs who starred in The Littlest Hobo. Chuck passed away in 2010 and I wrote a tribute to him that I posted on the web.

After I did...people started contacting me. People who worked with Chuck, who saw Chuck and his dogs perform, or just who loved the Littlest Hobo show. So many of you have posted on the blog or written to me via email. It has really touched me that you have taken time out of your lives to thank me for writing about Chuck and his dogs. I even met people through eBay auctions where I picked up publicity photos like the one pictured here.

Here's a link to that tribute post I wrote when Chuck passed away last year: 

http://hobogirlkyrie.blogspot.com/2010/09/chuck-eisenmann-littlest-hobo-tribute.html

Well, I've decided it's time to write some more. There are successful books out there about dog stars like Rin Tin Tin; I've decided to try to write one about Chuck Eisenmann and the dogs that played The Littlest Hobo. I'm sick of waiting for someone else to do it for me--and what if no one ever does? 

So, who the heck am I and why do I care?

My name's Anne Becker. I run a blog for my ISSR Shiloh Shepherd Kyrie. She looks just like one of the Littlest Hobo dogs. Through her--and because of her breeder, more on that below--I have become a huge fan of the series, the trainer, and the amazing dogs.

I first learned about them through Tina Barber, our Shiloh Shepherd Breed Founder, who also passed away last year. She wrote an article called "What Is a Shiloh Shepherd" that featured photos and newspaper blurbs from Chuck's book Stop! Sit! and Think! 

Tina mentioned several times that she and other kennels had been working with Chuck to try to produce more dogs that looked like London, the German shepherd dog who played the original Hobo. It was from one of those other kennels that she got her Samson--the first outcross dog used in the Shiloh Shepherd breeding program. All Shilohs who have Samson in their pedigree also have The Littlest Hobo back there. That's why you'll see Shiloh Shepherds who look like London; those color genes are rare, but they do pop up, as they did with my Kyrie.

So...what's the goal, here?

I want to write a book that does the following.

I want the first chapter to touch briefly on Chuck's military background for context. He was a veteran of World War II and there was a reason he named his first dog "London". After that I want to move into his baseball years after he returned from the war, his dropping out of baseball due to injury (when he acquired London) and his return to baseball, where London, performing in front of stadium crowds, earned the fame that got him a LIFE magazine spread. From there it's all the fantastic tale of the dogs behind the Littlest Hobo and the movies, TV show, and public appearances.

To aid me, I do own every one of Chuck's books and numerous publicity photos. I've watched a VCR recording he did on educating your dog. I've tracked down good places to start digging for newspaper blurbs, more photos, video snips and stills of TV appearances...BUT.

I need help.

If you knew Chuck, and want to talk about him and what his dogs meant to you...if you were one of the people who attended a live appearance and were convinced by his dogs that there ARE things about canine intelligence that are breathtaking and incredible...or if you just plain love the Littlest Hobo and want to try to put into words why it mattered or matters so much to you--

Then email me. Let's work together. I really want to include interviews with and testimonials by people who don't want this stuff to be forgotten. All of Chuck's books are out of print. It's almost impossible to find the LP recording or video anymore. We need to erect a memorial in words, before the people who can speak or write them are gone, too.

I'll be up front and say I can't pay you anything for contributing. I may have to publish this book out of my own pocket to get it out there if I can't find a real publisher who's willing to take it on. But this is a labor of love, and it's something that needs doing. So let's go.

My email is littlehoboblog@gmail.com and I would love to hear from you about Chuck, London, Litlon, Toro, Venus, Raura, Thorn and all the rest.

Thanks for reading...and I'll be posting here as the project progresses. You may get excerpts. More photos as I discover them. Anything interesting I'm digging into to work on the project. Stay tuned!