Pupper West Side: Senior Rescue Boris Recalls His West Coast Roots and Steak Dinners With a Famous Friend

By A. Campbell

Happy New Year, Puppers! My name is Boris and I’m a 14-year old Basset Hound and Cocker Spaniel mix. I’m still new to the neighborhood having just relocated from Williamsburg, Brooklyn about six months ago, but I already love it. Neighbors seem to think I belong here. The other day, Mom and I were out for a walk when someone stopped to say, “that dog is SO Upper West Side!”

I’m a West Coast transplant and I’ve held on to my low-key Northern California vibes even after years spent here in the bustling big city. Mom was living in the Bay Area when she adopted me. True to my Haight Ashbury roots, it turned out I was a love child — the result of an illicit affair between a show dog and another pup. I loved the Bay Area and my time spent frolicking on the beach, but Mom had her sights set on attending grad school at NYU, so we headed east. Together, we spent countless nights curled up in a big chair. Mom would be researching and writing late at night while I draped myself around her as a sort of back pillow doing my best to offer lumbar support. After lots of hard work and sleepless nights, she even dedicated her dissertation to me. It was titled, “The Doom Performative Aesthetics in the Space of Interdiction.” Impressive, right?

I adhere to a pretty mellow daily routine. Each morning it’s a walk followed by breakfast and about 20 minutes of zoomies before I decide it’s time for my mid-morning nap. I coexist (mostly) peacefully with my feline roommate, Elvira. On the weekends, Mom and I might stop by Blue Bottle Coffee for a caffeine jolt or pick up a tasty bagel at Zucker’s.

One unique story about me is my close friendship with the late Ed Asner. You might know Ed as Mary’s tough but lovable boss from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” or as the voice of Carl Fredricksen in Disney Pixar’s colorful film, “Up” or even as Santa Clause from the movie “Elf”. Ed and I met because he was dating my grandmother for a time. We really bonded. Once, about 10 years ago, my Mom was going to be out of town for a couple days at a work conference and Ed kindly offered to babysit me. It turned out that Hurricane Sandy hit New York City during that time and Ed and I ended up spending a week together until Mom could return from her conference in Canada. The two of us hit it off and afterward, any time Ed was visiting the city for work, he’d send a black car to Mom’s apartment to pick me up. We even went for steak dinners together!

Read all of our Pupper West Side interviews here!

If you think your pup deserves a shot at neighborhood fame, we encourage you to reach out to Audrey at pupperwestsideuws@gmail.com to be considered for a future profile on West Side Rag and follow your fellow Pupper West Sider’s adventures on Instagram at @pupper_west_side_uws

If readers are interested in becoming pet owners, we encourage you to consider adopting or volunteering to be a foster parent with one of the many shelters and nonprofits based in and around New York City. These include but aren’t limited to Muddy Paws Rescue; Animal Lighthouse Rescue; Animal Care Centers of NYC; NYC ASPCA; Humane Society of New York; Bideawee; Social Tees; Badass Brooklyn Animal Rescue and Animal Haven.