Ha! I’ve known that for years! 😉
Seriously…
Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) and his wife, Cheryl, with Tinker, a 7-month-old Dalmatian mix, who looks a bit worried about the whole idea!
The Story via the Washington Post: (H/T to the Daily Caller)
They are the ultimate Capitol Hill insiders, privy to high-powered meetings between lawmakers and lobbyists, able to just saunter into congressional offices — no appointment necessary. Want this kind of access? Tuff.
We’re talking about dogs. A couple of dozen — dozen — roam the halls of power in the Capitol every day.
“Treat time! Treat time!” booms Sen. Christopher S. “Kit” Bond (R-Mo.) from behind his desk. As vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Bond was about to go on television to talk about terrorism, but first it was Tiger time. Now you might think an expert on national security would have a noble German shepherd or a muscular Doberman, and Bond is sure to mention that he grew up with Labrador retrievers, hunting dogs and beagles. But Tiger is a 2-year-old Havanese, a cuddly toy breed that looks like a gray baby Wookiee.
“This is the first time I’ve had a fufu dog,” he says. And his colleagues don’t let him forget it: When Tiger was a puppy and weighed only five pounds, Bond took her outside with a pink leash and collar and someone said, “Didn’t you used to be Kit Bond?”
It was noon and Tiger had her eyes locked on Bond’s container of yellow dog treats. Next to Tiger sat Pooley, a Chihuahua mix who belongs to Shana Marchio, Bond’s communications director. “I think they can tell time, because they always know when it’s treat time,” the senator confides.
Tiger is named after the University of Missouri mascot. She likes to lie on her bed under Bond’s desk and destroy University of Kansas Jayhawks toys. Tiger’s school spirit once led to an embarrassing situation, Bond said: She wouldn’t stop barking at Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila C. Bair. Bair has two degrees from Kansas, and “I think she sniffed it out,” Bond said.
I always knew Politics was a….ahem, Dog eat Dog sport….But…. This? Wow… Just….Wow…
A very cute sideshow of the Beltway Pooches can be found here.