Barney Bit Here
Sounds like they could start slapping plaques on all the people the First Dog got a piece of. Boston Herald’s Inside Track:
Apparently, the first pooch is biting mad about departing 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Because not only did Barney bite a TV reporter the other day, we hear he also took a piece out of Boston Celtics PR maven Heather Walker when the team visited the White House in September!
Word is Heather - a dog lover who has an aging yellow lab of her own named Pripet - tried to get friendly with Barney when the team was in D.C. for their NBA Championship visit with Dub-ya.
“Yes, the dog nipped me, but it was not a big deal - really!” insisted Heather, who describes herself as “a dog lover in ridiculous proportions.”
According to our spies, when Walker and the team entered the East Wing for the Celtics presidential press conference, Barney and the Bushes’ other Scottish terrier, Miss Beazley, were there with their handlers.
“Heather reached down to pet Barney,” said Someone Who Was There. “Then the next thing you know she was saying ‘Ohmigod, he bit me!’ She was in total shock.”
Luckily, the team doc was onhand to hand Heather a Band-Aid and the show went on.
Apparently, Walker was unaware that Barney has a history of antisocial behavior. In fact, on West Wing White House tours, visitors are not permitted in the Rose Garden if Barney is outside because he has bitten strangers in the past.
Last Thursday, Barney’s latest victim was Jon Decker of Reuters TV .
Decker asked the White House dog handler if he could pet Barney. But when he did, the dog snapped and broke skin on Decker’s finger.
“I think it was his way of saying he was done with the paparazzi,” said Sally McDonough, spokeswoman for first lady Laura Bush .
Or, perhaps Barney’s just dog-tired of the way the media’s treated his master!
The selection of the next first dog has turned into a major transition issue. Hypoallergenic requirement suggests a foo-foo dog. Herald again:
A poll of 42,000 people on the American Kennel Club’s presidentialpup.com elected the hypoallergenic poodle. Other leading candidates included the Bichon Frise, the Chinese crested, the miniature schnauzer and the soft-coated wheaten terrier.
“My favorite is a French bulldog,” said Alyson Abramson, manager of Skipton Pet Center in Boston. “Or a pit bull, oddly enough - those are great family dogs - but you know they’re not going to put a pit bull in the White House.”
If Barney’s problem is biting people, the big question is whether they’ll be able to keep the Obama pooch from eating other people’s dinner. A lot of attention on whether he’ll be lifting his right leg or be more centrist.
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 6:50 am on Monday, November 10, 2008
One Response to “Barney Bit Here”
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November 10th, 2008 at 8:47 am
“Last Thursday, Barney’s latest victim was Jon Decker of Reuters TV ”
Reuters?
I’d like to send Barney a big box of milkbones.