Papa's Littlest Girl

Lanaynez Elliott Hohman is four and a half. Her fave thing is to ride shotgun, on car trips she sits on the armrest between Dodson and me. She's quite a navigator except for when she vomits on our leather upholstery. That is why the Lord created Nature's Miracle. And q-tips. And ventilation.

She worshipped her uncle Big Bongo. She's best friends with Sugar. She is starting to warm up to Rickey, after a rocky start. They will be bosom buddies by the summer.

Seriously. Have you seen my blue pen?

I can't find it anyplace. Oh well, I'm sure it will show up.

Sugar's trademark is shenanigans. Messy shenanigans.

(Sugar in our Studio City rental, 2001. I believe the ink eventually came out.)

Getta loada Rickey

Here's my version of the facts: it was Lana and Sugar who were so forlorn about Bongo's absence, and I was just being a compassionate Dad. No one was grooming their faces and they looked all scruffy. We called Dawn out at the Basset Rescue Connection. At most times she is fostering anywhere between 30 and 40 basset hounds; I asked if there were any who we could foster, someone who would distract them from missing Bongo. Someone attentive and affectionate. Maybe handsome with pretty eyes and long ears. (Reaching for the stars and the moon) someone who likes eye boogers and ear wax.

Rickey. Just turned five. Adorable. So sweet and affectionate. Crazy about Sugar and desperate for Lana's approval. He lasted three days as a foster pet and we called and said he wasn't coming back. He's instantly assimilated himself into our family, he's brought us great happiness in what otherwise would have been a devastating time. He needed something, though......

He needed a full name.

So, after a little consideration:

Federico Cugat Elliott Hohman Junior

Please address all correspondence accordingly.

Here's to you, little guy.

ps. Sugar and Lana are enraged that Rickey's getting face time here in this blog, so maybe some pics of them next.

Beverly Hills Basset Hound Bongo Hohman

Bongo in the kitchen of his Beverly Hills home. He most likely had either just had a cookie or was about to have one.
Either is a safe bet.

I really miss him today. Just look at those eyes. He was the sweetest guy I ever met, always in a happy state.

I told you he was a good kisser

(I'm blushing)

Sugar has seen it a 100 times and she is so bored with it she has passed out.

What the hell am I supposed to do with all these paper towel holders?

Geez. It's kind of depressing to realize that we are still stockpiling these things because (in case I hadn't previously mentioned it) these are Bongo's most favorite post-breakfast snack. Sugar used to eat a little bit of one to humor Larry but now that he's gone neither she nor Lana or Rickey give a crap about these things. One of the hardest things about Bongo being gone is that we have lost our natural schedule-maker.

Actually, Bongo's morning schedule would look something like this:

6am wake up, groom sisters eyes and ears for boogers and wax

601am start barking for a cookie

601.0001am someone gives him a cookie

7am breakfast with cereal and chopped vegetables and string beans and avocado

702am start barking for a cookie, he gets it (who can listen to that forever)

705am forgotten that he had gotten post-breakfast cookie, barks for another

710 am cannot take it another second, he gets a cookie

711am finally. satisfied.

713am feeling like a little snack, goes to each of the three bathrooms looking for toilet paper roll

715am All the toilet paper rolls still have paper on them (damn them)

717am Papa gives him a paper towel roll, just finished a roll in the kitchen

718am Unbridled joy. This actually sates him for almost an hour.

King of all that he sees

Dodson has been all over me to post this photo, which in truth is the last photo taken of him. He was such a nice guy, it just made me feel happy and safe being around him. I worry now that at this moment he wasn't actually feeling well but didn't/couldn't tell me. I swear, when I see Bongo in the next life I am making sure we speak the same language.

Did you ever see a dream walking?

Sugar and Bongo at Devra and Arlene's house, circa 2000. This was before I met Dodson and before Lana was born. Arlene and Dev let us stay in their guest house a couple of times while we were either moving or doing construction. The dogs had a lot of fun there.

Larryin' It

Most people who knew Bongo knew that he was a man of many personalities, each of them befitting a bon vivant and a gent. Many a morning he would wake up and decide that, for the day (or week or month, in some cases) he would like to be called by a moniker other than Bongo. His dominant personality preferred to be called Larry, though sometimes he demanded to be called Frank or Karl. Or Gary. Or Mister Jinglehoffer. Or Chuck or Boueff Woofman (his nom de thesp). I think he was Kyle for about ninety minutes once. But mostly he was just Larry. My Larry.

He owned many entertainment companies outright through his Lar-Co holding company, including Larrymount Pictures, its subsidiary Larrytoons Animation and the Laradigm talent agency as well as the vast Larrymore estate in Encino, California.

I sure did like that guy. And the wonderful thing is, he liked me right back.

Two li'l basset babies

Bongo and his sister Sugar, when they were just babies. Even at this point, Bongo was quite a kisser.

Life of the Party

Bongo Larry Elliott Hohman Junior
March 4, 1998 - December 9, 2005

Bongo lived a kingly life, full of attention, affection, adoration, avocados, cookies, the occasional twenty dollar-bill, and paper towel holders. Every day both of his Papas hugged and kissed him and told him how much they loved him. He never spent a night away from his beloved littermate Sugar Joan nor his treasured niece and playmate Lanaynez. He had a rich, deep, wonderful bark and his gorgeous and sparkling personality lit up many a room. He was (rumored to be) a great kisser.

Bongo passed away suddenly at 12:20pm on Friday, December 9.

Our loss is immeasurable, our joy in knowing him every day of his life since he was five weeks old. Loving him has been the greatest thing ever.

What a great guy. I will never forget him. I know I will have a chance to be with him again in some other place.