History of Woofy the Dog
The following is a history of Woofy the Dog written by Brent Boehler. Broadcast on CHLY 101.7 in 2007 on the Brent & Woofy Radio Show.
The History of Woofy the Dog
The First 14 Years of Brent & Woofy in 2007
On June 4th 2007 Woofy the dog turned 14 years old. That’s very old in dog years, 98 to be exact, however this canine is more like a person than a dog!
Sit back and relax and enjoy a brief history of Woofy the dog.
To understand how Woofy came along we must look back to a time long, long ago, back to when Brent was just a pup himself.
Brent grew up in a musical family. His dad is a singing yodeling cowboy and his mom was always playing the piano or accordion. Brent started playing and writing music at the tender age of 13. His dream to be a rock star!
With stars in his eyes Brent ventured to the land o plenty, better known as Calgary, to seek his fortune. He started his musical career with his younger brother Bruce and together the pair entertained in bars and pubs.
As the story goes the stars started to fade and Brent headed home to BC, landing in Nanaimo in 1984. He continued to perform music in bars and pubs but was finding the bar scene to be a nowhere street. He wanted more out of entertaining.
By this time Brent had married and had two young boys. He started playing and writing music for his sons who were 3 and 4 years old in 1993. Brent’s stars where once again beginning to shine with the birth of his sons. He found his calling in life. He became a family entertainer.
Brent brought back an old friend, relative and very talented musician to accompany on his new journey. Brent and his brother Bruce once again joined forces and together they started the 'The Brother Brothers Travilin’ Family Show.'
This fun, fast-paced family show included original music, balloon animals and magic, but something was missing. More comedy was needed for the show.
Brent had dabbled in ventriloquism when he was younger and now it was coming back. Now he had a place to perform ventriloquism. Now he needed a partner.
"1993 was an exciting time for us. Everything was new. I was excited about writing music again. I was excited about learning ventriloquism."
Woofy the dog was just a thought in Brent’s imagination until he and his wife of the time went to work to create the pooch.
The first Woofy was a sock puppet, a couple of glued on eyes and a tongue hanging out.
"Yeah that sock puppet started the whole thing. I remember very plainly when I was working with him and my son Matthew, who was 4 years old at the time, simply called the sock puppet 'Woofy.' It stuck and from then on Woofy was his name."
The sock puppet soon gave way to the first prototype which was a glorified sock puppet. Basically a head on a tube.
"We took the second puppet and went to daycares and I performed with it. I still remember the first time I attempted ventriloquism in front of a live audience! It was scary!"
In the meantime Melanie went to work on the final Woofy. She created his head from her own design and used a teddy bear pattern for his body.
"Woofy the Dog turned out perfect. Once he came to life his personality was born. His voice came from a song I wrote and recoded called Sometimes I Feel. (lyrics) It’s a number for kids about expressing their feelings. The sometimes I feel giddy line is what Woofy sounds like today."
With his new puppet and determination Brent set out to learn and perfect the art of ventriloquism.
"When you ask a ventriloquist about his puppets and they tell you the puppet has a mind of his own, believe him. The prop does take on his own personality and the ventriloquist finds himself giving all control to the puppet. Its very strange, sometimes when we are performing even I can't wait to see what Woofy is going to come up with next! I remember when he was very young and he was laying on the couch, his lifeless little puppet body just laying there and I asked him "Hey Woofy! Do you wanna watch a movie?!"
Brent and Bruce performed in the 'The Brother Brothers Travilin’ Family Show' for about a year visiting children’s festivals, fairs, and even birthday parties. It was clear right from the start who the real star of the show was!
Whenever Woofy performs in public you can always hear an excited tiny voice cry out…"Mommy Woofy talks by himself!"
The brothers went their separate ways after a year and Brent continued with the show focusing on Brent & Woofy. The pair went into the studio to record and have completed 4 CDs of original music.
Brent & Woofy CDs
"What’s really cool recording with a puppet on your hand is the reaction of the sound guys! That’s something they’ve never seen before but when Woofy’s singing he has to be there! It’s good for a laugh!"
Brent & Woofy continue to bring happiness and smiles to kids of all ages. They have performed in hundreds of venues over the years.
"One of my fondest memories was when Woofy and I were invited to perform on the Show of Hearts telethon. That was a great experience, however we still enjoy performing to smaller crowds. There’s more one-on-one that way.
Woofy became an instant hit with the kids and their parents. It wasn’t long after Woofy debuted in 1993 that wherever Brent went without his canine buddy someone always asked him…"Where’s Woofy!"
Woofy loves to sing. He has appeared on Brent & Woofy albums singing his little canine heart out. Here are a few samples of his songs.
Woofy's Seven Days Of Christmas
When asked what Woofy’s future will bring he just smiles and says he wants to make more friends, more music and keep performing until Brent is so old he can't hold him up anymore!
You can catch Woofy performing here, there and everywhere and he is co-host with Brent on the Brent & Woofy Radio Show heard every Tuesday morning at 8:00am on CHLY 101.7FM (Now on Saturday Mornings at 10:00AM)(No longer on the air)
The History of Woofy the Dog - The First 14 Years of Brent & Woofy was written and produced by Brent Boehler. Narrated by Pam Edgar. Copyright 2007 bbshows
