The Official Blog of The Fence Authority

Fido is the renowned dog author of A Fence for Fido, the pup-published e-Book that is sweeping the internet. It received glowing reviews from the Fluffington Post, and New York Dogazine described it as “Absolutely PAWsome!”

We don’t want to give you any spoilers, but this is a story for all dog-lovers that is sure to make you laugh and cry. Fido narrates his experiences as a stray dog whose friends aren’t coming out to play anymore. When he goes on a journey to find them, he ends up finding something unexpected. We met up with Fido at a gourmet treat café to talk about the questions that are on everyone’s mind.

Q: You’ve been successful in dog-dominated literary circles for a while with your hit Ode to Pizza Crusts: Easy Recipes for Strays. By comparison, how difficult has it been to break into the human market?

A: Funny you said that, because the dog market is actually way harder! My recipe book is out of print, and the reason is that most of the copies have been chewed to pieces. I even gnawed on one or two myself. It just looked tasty! So, the book was popular with my friends, but really, I think the picture of pizza crust on the cover was the main draw.

Reaching humans has been hard in some ways—they speak another language, they’re a whole different species…but at least you can be sure they like your book for more than chewability. However, making it an e-book did solve that issue with my fellow canines. Of course, there’s no guarantee humans aren’t just in it for the cute dog pictures, but I’m not complaining—I love the fame!

Q: I’d like to dig more into the language and species barrier you mentioned. I hope you don’t mind me pointing out that, well, you don’t have thumbs. How exactly did you turn your story from barks to words?

A: That doesn’t offend me at all! Personally, I’m cool with not having thumbs—having a tail is way better. But it is true that I can’t type, so I had to work with my human transbarker. The process got kind of tiring, and it was hard to stay focused, especially since it was summer. At one point, I couldn’t help myself, so I had to chase down the ice cream truck—and then they wouldn’t serve me because I had no money! They said cuteness was not currency—can you believe that? But I got a treat every time I finished a page, so that helped.

Q: One thing I loved about your book was meeting Fifi, Rusty, and the rest of the gang. How did they feel about being included in the story?

A: Most of my friends were sorry when they realized just how sad I was that they couldn’t come out to play with me. Overall, they were really supportive. At first, Fifi didn’t like how much I made fun of her for wearing clothes and being too short to jump over a fence, but she came around when she started getting recognized on walks.

Q: What was the main reason you decided to share this particular story? Remember, no spoilers!

A: Without giving away the ending, that’s kind of hard to explain, but I think when people read it, my message is clear. I don’t want other dogs to feel as alone as I did, and I figured if I reached humans, I’d be able to make a difference. I know I said I loved fame, but I swear, that wasn’t the only reason!

Q: Your message is absolutely very powerful, and it seems that it’s having an impact! What’s the easiest way for human fans to connect with you?

A: Twitter is totally my favorite platform! The messages are short, so there’s a lot less transbarking involved. Tweets always get me excited—I only get more excited when tweeting means there are actual birds nearby. I use The Fence Authority’s Twitter account and have the owner, John, Tweet for me. I’m still waiting for Twitter for to add its own bark transcription capability…but I love to make new friends and connect with everyone!

You can click below to get a free download of Fido’s story! 

When you’re done, be sure to Tweet your thoughts to @fenceauthority with #AFenceForFido!