AP: Police rule Buddy's death an "accident"

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[ambrose]

Buddy,' the Clintons' Dog, Dies

By JIM FITZGERALD
Associated Press Writer

January 3, 2002, 3:37 AM EST

CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. -- Former President Clinton's dog Buddy, the frisky retriever who unhappily shared the White House with Socks the cat, was killed by a car outside the Clinton home.

The 4-year-old chocolate Labrador ran from the home in Chappaqua on Wednesday afternoon, "playfully chasing a contractor who had just left the residence," said Lt. Charles Ferry of the New Castle police.

Buddy was hit by a car on a busy two-lane road at the bottom of the Clintons' cul-de-sac and was pronounced dead at an animal hospital.

Ferry said the death was "strictly an accident."

Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, were not home at the time, said spokeswoman Julia Payne. They issued a statement saying Buddy "was a loyal companion and brought us much joy. He will truly be missed."

The Clintons were given Buddy as a puppy in 1997, just weeks before the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke. The dog was named after the president's great-uncle, who had died earlier that year.

"If you want a friend in Washington, you need to get a dog," Clinton said, quoting President Truman.

Buddy became one of the most photographed pets in the nation, often seen playing on the White House lawn or bounding into a helicopter headed for Camp David.

He had a famously uneasy relationship with Socks, who was already ensconced in the White House when Buddy arrived. Although Mrs. Clinton expressed confidence for "a peaceful reconciliation during the holiday season" in 1997, their dislike was apparent.

Buddy, on a leash, once approached Socks on the White House lawn and began barking; Socks bristled and stood his ground. The president called it "making progress."

Buddy was neutered in 1998 in an operation that was comic fodder on late-night television. David Letterman wisecracked: "President Clinton's pretty busy. He had Buddy the White House dog neutered. ... So, Socks is neutered, Buddy is neutered, and so I'm thinking, two down, one to go."

The first lady put together a book called "Dear Socks, Dear Buddy" by gathering letters from children to the two pets. ("Did you ever get petted by the Spice Girls?" was one question.)

In the end, Buddy was the apparent victor in the rivalry for the Clintons' affections. When they decided they could take only one pet with them when they left the White House, Socks went to live with Clinton's secretary, Betty Currie, in suburban Virginia. Buddy accompanied the president on the farewell flight from Washington to New York, roaming the aisles of the jetliner.

In his first days in Chappaqua, Buddy served as an early-warning system to reporters that Clinton was coming out for a walk. Buddy would emerge from the home unaccompanied, a rubber ball in his mouth, which often meant the former president was behind him.

Once, when playing fetch with Clinton and a rubber ball, Buddy became entangled in the ex-president's legs and knocked him down in full view of the cameras.

"You guys got a good shot," Clinton said. "That's the first time he's knocked me down in all the time we've been together."

Copyright © 2002, The Associated Press

[DoughtyOne]

Most days? You must be kidding. EVERY STINKIN DAY! Heh heh.

[vikingchick]

Love your headline. :)

[TRY ONE]

Why did Buddy get run over and Socks lived?

Ans. Willie will always keep an eye out for pu**y?

[SarahW]

You may be right...

[proudofthesouth]

Another witness bites the dust.

[princess leah]

Buddy had been depressed after watching Barney get all that attention and tried to cross the road on his way back to the white house!

[SAMWolf]

Bill: Hillary, My image and Leagcy are going down the tubes. What could I possibly do to improve my image in the eyes of the American People?

Hillary: Kill the dog. The American suckers always have sympathy for someone who loses a pet.

Bill: Sorry, Bobby, er, Bubbly, er, Booby, er, whatever we named you. Come on let's go out a play chase the ball!

[vikingchick]

OK, I've got a sci-fi theory: scientists are ready to announce an amazing breakthrough....they have cracked the code of canine barks, growls, etc. and are able to translate them into English. Much has been learned by studying the high-pitched squeals of whales, and this was the next step.

Dead dogs tell no tales.

[Paulus Invictus]

The Felons can't keep track of their kid, the marriage, their brothers, their Rich friends, their dogs and cats and his interns. What infernal losers!

[ozone1]

Three dogs in one house was just tooooooo much.

[A Citizen Reporter]

And the Buddy stories in the press started about Dec 10. I found the Buddy Fan Club Page. Most of the articles it was linked to are gone, but the dates are on this webpage.

[JimVT]

"Buddy was a loyal companion and brought us much joy. He will truly be missed."

I liked to die laughing this morning when on the Imus program, someone said: "That's what they said about Vince Foster."

And, I think it was Bernie who chimed in......"and Ron Brown, too'"

[RobertFrost]

All dogs go to heaven... except for Bill.

[Shermy]

LOL!

Be scared. Be very scared...

[tubebender]

My brother-in-law told me he heard from one of his first wives, whose first husband had a former friend in "high places", that the car was put together from several AMC Ambassadors and was registered to a Mr Socks.

[dr_who]

Oh, Bill's poor approval rating....

[boltfromblue]

My sentiments, almost. When Bill couldn't use Buddy as a photo op, or to get undeserved sympathy for himself from somewhere, anywhere, he and the other narcissist in the household likely ignored Buddy so much, that this emotionally abused dog, not only abused because sensitive to his owners ugly emotions, but because of neglect probably ran off with the contractor, begging him to take him home with him. Not pithy, but you get the picture.

[Amore]

This story just made the NBC Evening News!

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Can I have Sox in the death pool?

[Teacup]

I heard they found Buddy by a park, with an antique gun by his side. The Park police were called.