Here's Boomer - Synopsis

Synopsis

The series followed the adventures of Boomer, a stray dog that traveled around helping people in trouble. The part of Boomer in all of the shows was played by a mixed-breed dog named Johnny, whose appearance was primarily that of a terrier. One early title considered for the series was Here's Johnny, after the dog who played the part, which was rejected owing to the use of that catch-phrase on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Johnny had a stunt dog, named Boomer J, who stood in for him on some of his more difficult tricks. As with human stunt actors and the stars for whom they double, the scenes featuring Boomer J were filmed at a distance to minimize the visual differences between him and Boomer.

Here's Boomer owed a great deal to the popularity of the Benji films and television specials of the 1970s and 1980s. In real life, both Johnny and Higgins, the dog who first played Benji, were abandoned or lost mixed-breed dogs who were adopted from animal shelters by animal trainers in California. On screen, both played the parts of stray dogs who were smart, friendly, and loving of their human and animal friends.

The show bore a striking similarity to the Canadian TV series The Littlest Hobo, which was running at the same time on CTV Television Network and in syndication in the U.S. Both series are about a vagabond dog who helps people in trouble only to go on his way at the end of the episode, and both series even used similar title sequences involving split screens. The only significant difference between the shows was the breed of the dog in each show (London, the star of The Littlest Hobo, was a specially bred German Shepherd).