Posted on 01/04/2002 1:27:29 PM PST by dirtboy
I owe my husband 50 bucks. I'd said the dog wouldn't make it to 2002. I guess I underestimated the ex-president's caretaking skills.
Buddy, ostensibly beloved dog of the Clinton family, was accidentally struck Wednesday afternoon when he darted out in front of a car on a busy two-lane road at the end of the cul-de-sac where the Clinton house stands in Chappaqua, N.Y.
What happened to Buddy is precisely what can be expected to happen to a dog when it's meant to be little more than a pawn in its owners' continuing attempts to impersonate human beings.
I find myself wondering whether, upon hearing the news about Buddy, Clinton even remembered that he had a dog.
Granted, the dog was mostly under someone else's watch. Still, if you care about the dog, you lay down the law with the caretakers - or with the Secret Service, as the case may be. A dog's baby-sitters will take their cues from the dog's owner and will tend to be either as vigilant or as cavalier as the master. If the owner's attitude is lackadaisical, why should theirs be any less so?
I remember the day they told us that the President got a dog. As a dog lover, I was more than a little disturbed by the thought of a soft, fluffy and genuine thing getting into the clutches of that family. Does Hillary Rodham Clinton strike anyone as someone who likes dogs? (Actually, they did have a cocker spaniel when they were governor of Arkansas, but Hillary reportedly didn't like it in the house.)
It is worth noting that the Clintons got Buddy after they were already First Family and in the public eye, to bolster their image as a real family. In contrast, the first Bushes had had Millie for years before they got into the White House, and the current Bushes likewise were partial to dogs and got Spot (and Barney) before the world was watching.
To give credit where credit is due, at least Bill Clinton didn't entertain photographers and guests by dangling his dog by the ears while it squealed, the way that other great humanitarian, creator of the Great Society, Lyndon Johnson, did to his dogs Him and Her.
So Buddy's dead. Socks they gave away. Has anyone seen Chelsea?
Personally, I was surprised the girl made it past the '93 inauguration, having already done her part to fulfill the minimum family-unit requirement so her parents could have a political life. Of course, she was a self-sufficient adolescent by then, not quite as vulnerable as a dependent canine. The only visible, physical manifestations so far of the stress she's endured from playing her role are the smoking and the drinking (having held off on the latter all through college, until her parents were out of the White House). But notice how, in contradistinction to the mischievous Bush daughters, this kid was a stellar child; she never made a wrong move. She must have known her life - or rather, her parents' political lives - depended on it.
At any rate, the Clintons most likely won't be getting another dog, seeing as how it wouldn't serve any political end at this point.
If they should try, however, one would hope that the animal rights people make a negligence claim to try to prevent it. (More likely, though, their ideals will take a backseat to Bill Clinton's whims, just as those of the National Organization for Women did.)
Then again, one shouldn't rush to judgment, since we don't yet know the full story. Perhaps Buddy wanted to die. Maybe he pulled a Vince Foster. Maybe he had seen and heard too much in that house, was privy to too many unspeakable schemes and just couldn't take the guilt.
The dog had a HUGE fenced yard; and Secret Service agents there; there is NO excuse for this dog be out.
And now their irresponsiblity has yet again hurt somebody else: just think of that young girl who hit this dog and killed him; imagine being thought of as the person who killed the "most popular" president's dog. I hate them.
Ok, so we've been toying with getting a female (choc lab, of course) to be his mate and all that. This past weekend, my 9 year old daughter went and visited a place where she spent the whole day with a litter of 6 week old pups. I guess they're pugs or jack russells or that size kind of dog. They're probably a mix of some kind. Anyway she fell in love and cannot stop thinking about this (male) pup. She says she doesn't care about it not being a choc. lab. This is her dog. She can FEEL it. This is the dog she's been waiting for. She KNOWS it. She told him she would be back for him.
Sheesh. Any words of wisdom out there for us?
Me and my wife just went and got a couple of puppies this weekend from the shelter - fine mutts, Malamute/Shepherd/Lab mixes. If your daughter is bonding with that dog, IMO it would be more important to get her the puppy she wants and not worry about breeding - but that's just my opinion.
My head just spins thinking what it might say.
" How could you be so Fn stupid?"
"You Fn J-- bastard!"
"Oh no look what you did to my nice blue dress."
"Elenor, I got to go. The Domino delivery is here."
" ."
Jack Russells are beautiful dogs, very energetic, I read that you really have to be willing to give them a good workout, they need to keep busy. Just the cutest dogs.
As a conservative who has always had cats rather than dogs....I take umbrage with your statement.
Dogs (like the liberals who vote for the RATs) love & lick the hand that feeds them no matter how they are treated; cats are more independent and self-reliant that the canine species. Some see that self sufficiency as aloofness but it manifests for me ....the 'conservative' nature of the feline.
Here's Georgio, a conservative Siamese....born in the USA and named for our President:
-- Unknown
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.