Once upon a canine there lived a puppy named London. London was a curious looking German Shepherd, who by today's standards resembled a cross between a purebred Shepherd and a Siberian Husky. London was born in 1946 and was purchased by a retired U.S. soldier named Chuck P. Eisenmann.

If at first the names of London and Eisenmann arouse no sense of familiarity, perhaps the title of "The Littlest Hobo" will jog your memory. London was the super-smart "hobo dog" featured in the top-rated 1960s television series. Along with names like Old Yeller, Lassie and Benji, London was among the canine elite who helped to establish the notion that dogs are "man's best friend". What made London shine above his canine contemporaries is that his trainer, Chuck Eisenmann, never taught London to perform tricks for the camera. Rather, Eisenmann asserted that London had become a bonafide actor, a canine superstar that genuinely understood the English language!

Between the years of 1963 and 1965, London did far more than act on his award winning television series. He also toured the world, appearing on the highest-rated television talk shows, many of which were aired live. During these live television appearances Eisenmann demonstrated that London was able to understand English. He demonstrated this by uttering a sentence that asked London to perform a series of tasks in chronological order.

For example: while standing on stage with his dog in front of a live audience, Eisenmann would ask London to: "...leave the stage and bark at the first person, in the fifth row, that is wearing boots." Astonishingly, London would walk off the stage and proceed to perform these requests in the exact order that they were asked. Then, to prove that people were not witnessing a trick, before London was asked to return to the stage, Eisenmann would say: "Before you return to my side, bark twice and then immediately touch any lady with your l-e-f-t p-a-w." Amazingly, London would do exactly what was asked of him. Time and time again, no matter how varied or convoluted the requests, whether the request was spoken or spelled out, London would consistently dazzle audiences with his ability to seemingly understand everything and anything Eisenmann asked.

The following is a first hand account of Eisenmann working with his dogs, written by TV Guide writer, Arthur Fuller.

A four-door sedan stands in the driveway, the driver and rear passenger doors open. For this scene, the dog must go into the car through one door, pass over the seat, and exit the vehicle by the other door. Eisenmann hems and haws, surveying the sedan.

"No way Toro can do it," Eisenmann tells the director. "His body's too long; he'll get caught. It'll have to be Bo." Chuck turns to the blanket where the five magnificent German shepherds recline. He summons the smallest dog, who prances forward, looking like a young actor sensing his big opportunity. Chuck crouches to speak to him. "Bo, I want you to run up to the car, go in this door, jump over the seat, and go out there." The camera rolls, and Bo receives his cue and heads for the sedan. In, over, out- flawlessly. "Print it," says the director.

Trickery or not, the manner in which Eisenmann was able to communicate with London, and later with a number of other dogs in his care, left expert dog trainers, veterinarians and animal behaviorists dumbfounded. Eisenmann was the Chris Angel of the dog world and was regularly seen with television's most famous face.

More impressive was that Eisenmann did not use corporal punishment or food bribes to train his dogs. In fact, he became upset when the word "train" was used to describe his work. Eisenmann would enthusiastically exclaim: "I do not train my dogs. I educate them!"

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