My Boy Butch: The Heart-Warming True Story of a Little Dog Who Made Life Worth Living Again

by Jenni Murray

Much beloved broadcaster Dame Jenni Murray recounts her great love affair with Butch the Chihuahua.

There was always a dog. If not real, then imagined.

As a lonely only child, Dame Jenni Murray longed to have a dog. She had only Timmy her imaginary pooch for company until her fifth birthday when her parents bought her a beautiful little puppy – Taffy the Corgi. This was to be the start of a life-long passion for man's best friend.

Having been a small dog owner all her adult life, in her fifties the arrival of Butch the Chihuahua coincided with the devastating discovery that she had breast cancer. Butch proved to be a devoted source of comfort, love and hilarity at the most difficult time in her life. Making her smile when she wanted to cry and laugh when she needed to the most, Butch was an invaluable source of support and the reassuring presence of this special little dog helped Jenni to make a full recovery.

Heartwarming, moving and hilarious at turns, My Boy Butch is a tribute to this oft maligned breed, and to a little dog who made life worth living again.

Genres: Animals

232 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2011

Reviews

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an autobiographical book chronicling the life of British radio host and minor celebrity Jenni Murray after she acquires a chihuahua she calls Butch to help her cope emotionally and recover from the trauma she suffered from breast cancer and a hip replacement.

The short text relates several warm and amusing anecdotes, but a lot of it reads like celebrity gossip about dogs, too peppered with tired clichés and overgeneralisations to build a strong emotional connection with the reader. And one distraction to the main story is curiosity about how the author’s 30-year marriage works, as she and her husband sleep in separate rooms, she makes important decisions that affect them both unilaterally, and he is often away at some unspecified job while her dog is her centre of attention.

I have no idea who Ms Murray is but I read the book because my partner and I are thinking of getting a dog and the narrative explores some of the anxieties and joys of bringing a new animal into the home. In this it succeeds, but it needs more depth to engage readers more fully.

[Jan Paha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a heart warming book I certainly relate to seeing I live with and love so much a sweet little Chihuahua named Jack . The book about Butch and Frieda remind me of Jack . Anyone who loves dogs as much as I do should read this sweet book .

[Kirsti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, I really did. I liked the simple story structure, and the cute dogs. I even liked the author, Jenni, her life and her family. So why only three stars? I, who read animal stories all the time, only give a dog story a three? Because nothing much happens in this book. There are descriptions of the dogs before Butch, and Butch's companion Frida. There are a few stories that could apply to any dog, any where. That's the problem; there is nothing distinctive or special about these dogs except in the eyes of the owner, and while I appreciate that the owner loves them, nothing they did was any more than any other dog would do. There was no story here, just a woman delighting in her dogs. That's fine and all, but I thought this would be one of those remarkable animal stories like Dewey's, Oscar's. Marley's or Endal's. I wanted to see that moment of connection between dog and owner, and somewhere along the line I missed it. Maybe it was the simple structure, maybe it was too simple. Either way, while I liked this book, I'm not going to rush out and add a copy to my collection like I did when reading other animal books I've hired from the library.

[Jossie Solheim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book but the woman in it just got my goat. For a start her husband is rarely mentioned and when he is your discovering a relationship in which they appear to be little more than flat mates and even then only occasionally so. They sleep not only in separate beds but separate rooms that's when she is even in the main home at all as they have two other homes one in London and one in Manchester I believe and the only other real mention is how she can manipulate and lie to him in order to get what she wants, Dogs.
There were a few interesting stories about the dogs dotted throughout the book but nothing really spectacular and that would have been fine and enjoyable to read if it weren't for the owner and her selfish and stuck up ways. If I'd have heard one of her radio shows I doubt I'd have bothered with this at all.

[Fiona Bromelow · Rating 4 out of 5]

sweet and short - finished it over one day

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn't badly written - I mean it wasn't a page turner, but it was a readable book about the effect a pet dog has had on the authors life.

What annoyed me, and one of the reasons why I'm giving this book fairly low stars, is that the author seems quick to show prejudice against various animals - one bad experience is enough to set her against a breed or species for life so it seems (hates Alsation's, Doberman's and foxes).

Essentially the only reason this book got published is because the author is vaguely famous (personally I don't know who she is, I bought the book for the subject matter, but she works for the BBC). There is nothing that happens to her or her dogs that's really any different to anyone else's life with a dog - I could have written a book like this if I wanted. At the end of the day it's a little boring, so it's a good thing that it's only just over 200 pages long.

[Helen Watts · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a dog lover then this is a lovely little book for you. Jenni demonstrates a true understanding of the special bond between owner and dog which others will just not "get". Simply written but very enjoyable.

[Hazel Keane · Rating 1 out of 5]

absolutely awful and totally misinformed on animals...

[Kath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished in a flash on a relaxing sunny afternoon but the author is very egotistical.