Boofer was added to the cast to provide Skippy & Liska with an arch nemesis. I wanted a creature that was lower than Liska on the food chain who would constantly thwart her schemes to catch him, while punishing Skippy along the way in a Looney Tunes type fashion. I must admit, he probably is the most shallow, two-dimensional member of the cast; there just isn't as much potential for depth or growth for a character like this. His job is mainly to introduce conflict and opportunities for slapstick into the strip.
Boofer was named for a very real squirrel who lived near our house in Ottawa. The squirrels on the military base there (including Boofer, Meatpie, Schreoder, and Sorepaw) were very friendly, and loved to mooch peanuts from the families living there (we also enjoyed the company of a friendly pair of groundhogs named Gordon and Georgette). They would come running whenever they saw us, and were so persistent that they would sometimes bang on our door to get their handouts.
Boofer's nastiness was inspired by another group of squirrels, these ones living near Rochester, New York. Apparently, they didn't much care for my family camping in their campground and showed their disapproval by pelting us with acorns, pinecones, and anything else they could throw from the trees. Fortunately, their aim wasn't as good as the fictonal Boofer's, or else they could have done some serious harm.
Boofer is probably the meanest, nastiest regular character in the comic, even more so than Liska. He might not be as likable as the rest of the cast, but he does fulfill an important function in the story.
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