A few weeks ago, the nice folks at Chronicle Books e-mailed Dogster HQ and asked if we would like to meet Facebook’s most popular dog at a swanky soiree at San Francisco’s W Hotel. Free food, open bar AND one of the cutest pups in the world? They didn’t need to ask twice. Dogster’s Social Media Analyst, Anna Zeman, and yours truly were up to the task. (No selfish agenda, of course…)

When we arrived, we found we weren’t the only Boo enthusiasts in the house. The dimly-lit event room was packed with well-heeled ladies (and a few dudes) nursing glasses of red wine and squealing with excitement. We chatted up some of the event’s hosts from Chronicle, and they told us the crowd was composed of members of the media, some W Hotel guests, friends, family and some 50 people who won entry to the event by purchasing Boo’s new book on Gilt City. They noted that Gilt had some 200 people waitlisted for the event, too.

When the star of the evening arrived, the calm and slightly inebriated room morphed into a camera phone-wielding mob (or “pup-arazzi,” ahem). We worried for little Boo, but his handler and hotel attendants expertly kept the diehards at bay. Photo seekers were asked to form a neat line at the lefthand side of the room, and a professional photographer snapped pics fror the W’s facebook page (where we later retrieved the topmost photo).

Boo didn’t seem phased by the attention, amazingly enough. He smiled his doggie smile and wagged his little tail and seemed content to accept all the affection his fans were doling out. And there was plenty to be had! Later, I would tell my friends on Facebook: “Dudes, we got to TOUCH him! Better than meeting Jesus in mah humble opinion.” (P.S. Don’t hate, we heart Jesus, too.)

Boo’s brother, Buddy, was in attendance, and while he didn’t get the same celebrity treatment Boo did, we think he is a serious contender for the “cutest dog in the world” crown. Seriously, how completely cute is he?