PrintFebruary 11, 2009
AP's Doggone shame
The Westminster Kennel Club Show is one of my favorite TV events of the year. When Stump, a lumbering 10 year old Sussex Spaniel with adorable sad eyes won best in show, I searched online for a news story to send to a dog loving neighbor who doesn't have a TV. It was a heart warming story. Shortly after Stump's last trot across the green carpet at Madison Square Garden back in 2004 he almost ended up in that big kennel in the sky. He'd been out of the show ring ever since and no one was expecting a comeback of this magnitude for such a senior dog.
Thus imagine my surprise when I opened the Associated Press story about Stump only to find myself reading all about Barack Obama. It seems AP is so obsessed with all things Obama they used the entire second half of the story about Stump's surprise win to write about how another of the unusual breeds showing at Westminster, the Portuguese Water Dog, was on Obama's short list for First Pet. One of the handlers showing that breed pointed out tongue in cheek that while the Portuguese Water Dog does have a coat that is hypoallergenic there may be serious character issues.
"Obama may not take bribes, but his Portuguese water dog would."
Given the ingenuity of Chicago politicians when it come to finding new ways to funnel money to family members this may bear watching.
