The Dog Blog with Kathryn Socie
Something’s Missing
By Kathryn Socie, 7-08-08
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| Photo Credit: Dan Socie | |
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With Obama in Butte, flipping burgers in celebration of the Fourth of July last week, I couldn’t help but wonder if my candidate of choice might still, somehow, have a little something missing. It’s not necessarily a requirement for my vote, but I think the White House would feel just a little more homey if there was a dog for the Prez to come home to after a long day on Capital Hill. Before the Obama family starts loading up the moving van for parts east, it seems perhaps the perfect time to put a little thought into the first dog.
Picking the right dog is definitely challenging. Not just any dog can handle the job. What with all the parties, the press conferences, the celebrity dinners, the White House is pure limelight for a dog; limelight some don’t handle well. After Abe Lincoln discovered his mutt Fido, who “loved attention and would spend countless minutes chasing his own tail” (hello, Abe, early signs of wackiness), had grown stressed and anxious from cannons and church bells and the constant stream of strangers, Abe shipped him back to Springfield to stay with friends to live a quieter life. Teddy Roosevelt’s Pete, a bull terrier, took a chunk out of a few cabinet members, nipped a navel officer and ripped the pants of French ambassador Jules Jusserand before he got the boot.
I realize a dog is a mighty responsibility for the leader of the free world to take on, but there are a bevy of Secret Service agents readily available who can’t wait to put their years of specialized training to use on dog detail. Even still, the process of assigning which agent is right for the job is a precarious one. The Clinton’s Buddy, an unbearably crazed chocolate Labrador can attest to this. Buddy, known for his endearing canine hijinks, consumed a reporter’s box of donuts, ran circles around Bill on-leash, and tripped him in front of television cameras (more than once), just to name a few of his charming feats. That was until one chilly winter day while out in the Clinton’s yard he “suddenly” dashed in the road and met his demise. One report I dug up said: ”Agents rushed after the dog and arrived at the accident scene moments after he had been struck.” Or, agents were fed up with the freaky spastic lab and, finally cracking, tossed a ball just a little too far in a game of fetch-- you decide.
Speaking of Buddy. Come on Bill was ‘Buddy’ really the best name Americans offered? Really? When the next President turns to the people and asks for help naming the first dog, let’s do a better job next time. Something a little more creative perhaps, like James Garfield’s Veto; that at least has some flare.
What America needs now, aside from a reformed economy and a peaceful, civil end to the war in Iraq (for starters), is another Laddie Boy or Fala. Somehow I am comforted by the notion of a faithful golden retriever laying by Obama’s side in the Oval office, or a German shepherd toting a leash to his bedside for a morning walk, bringing Michelle her slippers or even better yet a mutt, like Abe’s but without the anxiety, rescued from the ASPCA for Malia and Sasha to run around on the White House lawn with.
A girl can dream.
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Comments
Campaigning for the presidency takes the candidate away from home for many weeks at a time, and should they win the job they would be strapped with perhaps the most time consuming job there is.
Clearly any dog of a presidential candidate would miss the evening walks, companionship and open space that makes a dog's life great. A pet is more than a political gimmick, and deserves better attention than this sort of nonsense.
Perhaps we should all focus on the state of the country and the world before wondering if we want a president with a dog or not.
I do appreciate any concern for the kind of life of the pet in the White House, but judging by the rich history of all kinds of animals living there (all the way back to George Washington) my guess is that any presidential pet would be showered with attention and hardly sits neglected. I could be wrong.
... and YES: a girl CAN dream!!!
"... on other hand," I says to me,
"He's love-addicted, as we see,
And that is surely subject to
Some LOSS of love with all he'd do.
"2-legged love is prone, we know,
To fleeting glimpses when he'd go
Continuing to 'change-&-change'
As he is often so deranged.
"And even though a dog can't VOTE
He might do well to now take note
That ONLY a 4-legged friend
Gives LOVE *unqualified* till End.
"Should all the movie stars go home
And he is left alone to roam
Perhaps a doggy who won't care,
Would love him STILL, and sure be there?
"Then when Michelle's no longer sure
If this old Nation she'll endure
(Unless The Reverend bunks with Abe) ...
He'd have that DOG ~ if NOT that babe?
"My druthers sure would ALWAYS be
To bunk with DOG! ~ NOT what I see
Preparing to just move right in
The White House, Reign there to begin!
"So if he stumbles, and they LOOSE,
(would be MY option could I choose)
He might relent and cry much less
If he's out cleanin' up DOG mess?
"Dunno if LOVE *unqualified*
Would be love that could match the stride
Of all the rich and famous folks
Now clustered round to grin at jokes.
"And guess we'd have to hope and pray
He'd not KICK dog on any day
That rose to meet him as he leaves ...
... with face that shows all that he grieves?"
"ooooooooo-well," I says again to me ...
"Perhaps in months to come we'll see
If they've got room within their life
To cause a doggy so much strife."
God BLESS America ... AND any such Dog!!!
Adopted First Dogs who turn out to be quiet and dull can be given to the children of Secret Service agents, or perhaps the First Lady would like an upstairs companion. The president's dog must be a clown.