Chicago PD Inspired Dog Names

Hank the Cowdog is a book series for children written by John R. Erickson and illustrated by Gerald L. Holmes that began in 1982. This smart pooch is the head of ranch security on a large ranch in Ochiltree County, Texas and the books follow his adventures and antics with his gang of friends. When he is not on duty, he can be found soaking in Emerald Pond (the septic tank) or sleeping in his gunny sack bed under the gas tank.

Hank’s most favorite friend is Beulah, who is a Collie that lives on the ranch and the love of Hank’s life. He is always trying to do things to impress her and typically ends up making a fool of himself in the process. Unfortunately, Beulah has a boyfriend named Plato, who is a bird dog that Hank cannot stand. Beulah is nice to Hank because he is her friend and Hank believes that she secretly loves him. 

Drover is Hank’s sidekick, and he is just a little white mutt, according to Hank. He is shy, timid, has a bad leg, and can typically be found hiding in a machine shed on the ranch. His bad leg is usually fine until there is a crisis that he wants to avoid or when he is afraid. These two are fast furiends, and Drover will do anything for his hero Hank. 

High Loper and Sally May are the owners of the farm and Hank is very loyal to them. They have a son named Little Alfred who is one of Hank’s best buddies. Little Alfred likes to go on adventures with Hank and Drover and sometimes seems to be able to communicate with them and with other animals. However, the older he gets, the less he can communicate with them. 

Madam Moonshine is a witch who helps Hank sometimes when he needs her. She has a bodyguard named Timothy, who happens to be a huge rattlesnake and lives in the tree with her. Madam Moonshine has a lot of dif-fur-ent magic spells for all kinds of things, but they usually go wrong and sometimes make things even worse than they were in the first place.

Slim is a ranch hand that has been working on the ranch for a long time although he talks about moving on to a better job. He is truly lazy and lives in a rundown shack down the road from the ranch. He is constantly leaving old food, dirty clothes, magazines, and dishes everywhere and causing a rat problem, which Hank tries to help him with. He likes to pick on Hank and Drover in fun but loves them and takes them with him on odd jobs. 

This pawpular book series has had over 70 printed books and seven audio-only books as well as a television series on CBS in 1985, another in the 1990s, and again on Nickelodeon in 2015. However, the television shows did not pan out as well as the books did.