Buddy + Boo

f you know about this iconic duo Buddy and Boo, then you have probably heard about  Bluebeary Pie, Benny, and Bean too. The stardom of this big family of dogs started when Ke$ha and Khloe Kardashian tweeted about Boo. Now they have a joint Facebook account that has 15 million followers and an Instagram page with over half a million followers.

However, Irene’s first dog was Buddy, and just a little while later, in the spring of 2006, came Boo who has been named “The World’s Cutest Dog” by the fans. Buddy and Boo are Pomeranians and this breed is nicknamed “the little dog who thinks he can”. Although Boo was a small dog, he wasn’t afraid of big dogs and sometimes even challenged them. Buddy, however, was usually nervous around big dogs due to an unpleasant accident that had happened several years back. But there were times when Boo got scared and hid behind Buddy. And Buddy being the big brother kept his chin up and protected Boo. As you can conclude from this, they had a strong relationship. But the two of them were so different, even in the way they walked. Irene says that whenever she took the dogs for a walk, Buddy would always walk in a straight line and Boo would walk like a crazy dog. 

It is unfortunate that Buddy and Boo are not with us anymore. Buddy died in 2017 at the age of 14. It was hard for Irene but especially for Boo. He wasn’t the same after his best friend had left him. He started showing signs of heart issues and in 2019 at the age of 12, left the family to join Buddy. Irene said he died of heartbreak but she was comforted knowing that Boo wasn’t in pain anymore. 

However, Buddy and Boo were not the only dogs that Irene had. She now has 3 dogs including Bluebeary Pie who is 6 years old. Bluebeary is the protector of the family. Whenever he senses that something might be threatening his family members he’ll place himself between them and the threat. But he is also very silly, he eats everything that catches his eye and then suffers the consequences. In the spring of 2018 Bluebeary Pie met his best friend-to-be, Benny. He was only 8 months old when Irene adopted him. They quickly discovered that Benny likes to wrestle and steal everything Bluebeary is playing with. Bluebeary always seeks human attention but Benny isn’t interested in playing with people. This pair is also very different but at the same time, they love each other immensely. 

In 2019 there was a new addition to the family. Bean was brought into a shelter from the streets of Seoul. He had been in 2 foster homes before flying to the US to come to his forever home. It was a bit different for him to adjust but now he is basically everyone’s little shadow. Irene has a 4-year-old daughter who adores Bean. She dresses him up in ridiculous things but Bean enjoys it and lets her do whatever she wants. Irene posts pictures of all of them and shares stories with the fans. She always mentions how much she misses Buddy and Boo but she is also very grateful to have this family to make her life better.