JOHN'S JOYS
Why John O'Hurley says his greatest teachers are his four-legged companions

DA has loved John O'Hurley since his days playing Elaine's eccentric boss, J. Peterman, on Seinfeld, but we loved him even more after reading his book, It's Okay to Miss the Bed on the First Jump: And Other Life Lessons I Learned From My Dogs (Hudson Street Press, 2006).  Doggie Aficionado sat down with O'Hurley to discuss his book, his busy life and his two best friends.

Tell us how you decided to write It's Okay to Miss the Bed on the First Jump.  I host The National Dog Show every Thanksgiving, and I once wrote an essay for it called "Five Things I Learned from My Dogs."  The producers said it was too long to use, and I thought, "Well, it could make an intersting speech."  But then I realized it would be more fun as a book.  It's about what my dogs have taught me with their normal behavior.  Everything I learned in life I didn't learn from Oprah or Dr. Phil; I learned it from my dogs.  I really wanted to make the booko funny and inspirational; I wanted to celebrate the place my dogs have had in my life.

What was the book-writing process like?  It took me about six months, and I wrote it while I was playing Billy Flynn in Chicago.  Whenever I was backstage, I would open up my laptop and write.  I love writing and I love language, though I'm a terrible reader.  But writing is different; I write in the style of monologues, speaking every line as I write it and listen to the cadence of the line.

Tell us about your dogs.  Betty and Scoshi are like affable wife and an old curmudgeon dad.  Betty is a 10-year old rescue I found in 1999, and she's half black Lab, half Dacshund.  It's hard to imagine anything more painful than that—it's an odd commingling.  If I could have found her parents as they mated, I would have sold tickets to it.  Betty's tail never stops wagging; she's the happiest little dog in the world.  She'll walk up and lick the faces of cats.  I think it goes back to the idea that dogs, like people, appreciate life if they've come close to death.  When I found Betty, she was definitely near death—skinny to the bone.  It's amazing she survived.

Scoshi, on the other hadn, is a purebred Maltese, a 16-year old alpha male who has assumed the role of protector of my 5-month old son.  Scoshi can't climb stairs anymore, so if the baby is upstairs, he'll bark until someone brings him up to be next to the baby.

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