Famous politicians have been sighted multiple times with their pets. When surrounded by their pets, you catch a glimpse of politicians’ tender and human side. Many politicians have also made clever use of pets for political favors, especially if they have found themselves in a difficult spot!
Let’s have a look at some famous politicians and their pooches.
The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson adopted a 15 week old Jack Russell from a dog shelter when moving to Downing Street, a move that made headlines in the local news. Johnson named the pup ‘Dilyn,’ which means ‘follow’ in Welsh. Johnson confessed in a BBC interview that Dilyn was guilty of mischievous behavior such as chewing furniture and clinging on to people’s legs!
Justin Trudeau’s family got a new family member when they adopted a Portuguese water dog, Kenzie. Trudeau made the announcement on Instagram and Twitter, receiving profound feedback from the Canadian public. The prime minister’s press secretary later confirmed that the Trudeau family had adopted an 11-week-old Portuguese water dog. There was not much news of Kenzie after that, but she was spotted multiple times in family photos that the Trudeau family shared on social media.
Like Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron also adopted a Labrador-griffin cross dog from an animal shelter. He has been sighted with his dog multiple times and is known to find comfort in it. Macron’s dog is named after the commander of the Nautilus submarine in Jules Vern’s classic novel titled ‘ twenty thousand Leagues Under the Sea.” It was revealed that Macron was a fan of the novel.
Vladimir Putin is known to have multiple dogs, and some have been gifts from the leaders of other countries. His dogs included Konni, a female black Labrador who passed away in 2014. She was spotted by the president multiple times and was also allowed to attend meetings. These meetings were usually when Putin met other world leaders who visited Russia.
In 2010, Putin acquired Buffy as a gift from Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. Bulgarian is a caramel and white-colored Bulgarian male shepherd Karakachan dog. The dog’s name Buffy was chosen by a five-year-old boy during a national competition. Putin’s other dogs include Yume, Verni, and Pasha.
Yume was an Akita puppy given to Putin in 2012 from Tokyo, Japan. The gift was a sign of gratitude for Russia’s assistance during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan. Verni was gifted top Putin from the president of Turkmenistan in October 2017. Verni’s breed is Alabai, which is a Turkmen variety of Central Asia’s shepherd dog. Pasha was gifted to Putin by the Serbian president in 2019 and is a Sarplaninac puppy.
Bo was Barack Obama’s dog from 2008 to 2021. As Obama’s family was the first family of the United States from 2009 to 2017, Bo was occasionally nicknamed ‘First Dog.’ Bo is a Portuguese water dog, the same breed that Trudeau’s family adopted. In 2013, the family also adopted Sunny as a companion to Bo. Sunny was a female of the same breed.
Barack Obama’s daughter Malia and Sasha came up with the name Bo. They named the dog after their cousin’s cat and also after Michelle Obama’s father. The name was also a reference to the famous R&B musician Bo Didley and is also Barack Obama’s initials.
George W Bush and first lady Laura Bush’s dog was named Barney Bush, short for Bernard Bush. Barney was a Scottish terrier owned by the Bush family from September 2000 to February 2013. There was a webpage dedicated entirely to Barney that redirected to the White House. Barney was also sometimes referred to as the ‘First Dog’ and was born in New Jersey. It was reported that Barney enjoyed playing with golf balls and volleyballs and liked watching games of horseshoes.
Queen Elizabeth is known to be an avid dog lover and loves spending time with her dogs. She has bred more than 30 different canines during her reign and said goodbye to some too. In 2021, it was reported the Queen had three dogs, two corgis, and a Dorgi. The Dorgi is named Candy and is the oldest of the three. She is currently 10 years old. The Queen created the ‘Dorgi’ breed herself, which is a Dachshund and Corgi mix. The other two corgis are new additions to the Queen’s family and were gifted to her in 2021.
Sauli Niinisto has a five-year-old Boston Terrier, Lennu that often accompanies him to official events. Lennu is not very camera trained and often be seen running around with a toy in his mouth and distracting the occupants of the room. Lennu has gained quite a lot of popularity in Finland due to his adorableness. Pictures of Lennu accompanying the Finnish president have circulated on social media and have been the crux of a number of funny memes.
Winston Churchill’s love of animals was well known. Churchill had two chocolate brown poodles named Rufus I and Rufus II. Both the poodles were killed in an auto accident in 1947. Churchill was so distraught that he actually bought another poodle and named him the same name. Churchill was often seen accompanied by Rufus II, especially during his travels. It was said that no one in Churchill’s household was allowed to begin their meal until Rufus was given his bowl of food first.
by Bobby J Davidson || You can’t buy love, but you can rescue it™ .
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Here are some adoptions for consideration: puccicafe.com/adoptions