“To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs”. –Aldous Huxley, 1894, English Novelist.

This was inescapably true of Napoleon’s dog, but the popularity of Napoleon to his dog may not have been reciprocated. Napoleon had a black and white dog called 'Sambo' – whose ears he cut off apparently for fashion reasons, leaving the dog resembling a seal.

After Napoleon's death in May 1821 the dog was taken back to Europe by Countess Bertrand and her children and now the stuffed pet resides in the Musée de l'Armée in Paris, ears still missing.

Dog-alike rating. Dogs are brave and loyal, as was the swashbuckling emperor, so there lies one similarity, but taking into account that Napoleon was in possession of his ears until death, whereas poor Sambo was relieved of his early on in his life, the dog-alike rating must reflect this. 1/5

“If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.”- Harry Truman, 33rd President of the United States of America.

Many of America’s presidents have famously owned dogs, and of course the current leader is no exception. George W. Bush currently has two Scottish terriers amongst his closest allies. Barney and Miss Beazley both have their own websites on the official White House home page. Barney has lots of other unofficial sites dedicated to him all over the web too.

George W. Bush’ father George Bush Senior had a dog Springer Spaniel called Millie who ‘wrote’ a book on her take on life as America’s first family’s dog. The book, entitled ‘Millie’s Book’ was ghost written by Barbara Bush and went on to be a best seller.

Dog-alike rating. American Presidents tend to be slick and well rehearsed when it comes to meeting people, whereas your average Scotty will not hold back in licking your face off if he likes you. Scottish Terriers are smart, alert and feisty, something that could be said about certain Presidents, but on this occasion we will award a dog-alike rating that reflects the premier’s current popularity status. 1/5

“In a town in the east, The parishioners were visited upon, By a curious beast.”- Justin Hawkins, singer in The Darkness.

Black Shuck is a mythical dog whose master was a Viking by the name of Olaf the Fearless. Legend has it that Black Shuck haunts British shores where he is rumoured to have been left behind by his Viking master in 787 AD, and those who see the spectral dog foresee the death of a loved one.

Dog-alike rating. It is believed that both Black Shuck and Olaf were fearless and brave, but their main difference was loyalty. The Viking warrior having left his dog behind, whilst Black Shuck still roams the land where he last his master to this day. Apparently. 2/5

“The kids, like all kids, love the dog and I just want to say this right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we're gonna keep it.” -Richard Nixon, part of the famous ‘Checkers Speech’.

Richard Nixon owes his political career to a little Cocker Spaniel named Checkers. At the 1952 Republican national convention, the then Senator Richard M. Nixon was chosen to be the running mate of presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Having been Elected to Congress in 1946, he quickly made a name for himself while serving on the House Un-American Activities Committee. In 1950, he was elected to the U.S. Senate. His rise to political prominence was nearly reversed forever in the midst of what became known as the Watergate Scandal, but Nixon used his dog in one of the most effective pieces of political spin in history.

With his wife sitting by his side, Nixon explained of all of his finances, including the now-famous lines regarding his wife's "respectable Republican cloth coat" and the tale of his dog, named Checkers who was given as a present to his young daughters. "…I want to say right now that regardless of what they say, we're going to keep it."

From that point on the words became known as the Checkers speech, and Nixon went on to become the 37th of America.

Dog-alike rating. Nixon and his political ally Checkers do share many similarities. They both had exceptional people skills but most tellingly, Nixon as with most Cocker Spaniels had the ability to use his charm to get out of trouble and most tellingly. 3/5

“I love animals, and especially dogs”- Adolf Hitler.

Hitler has left an indelible thumbprint on world history for many grim reasons, but his love of animals is one of the less mentioned aspects to his rather unique existence. Hitler had a sheepdog that he called Blondie, with whom he would spend a great deal of time, even during WWII.

Traudl Junge was Hitler’s private secretary. She explained how the feared Nazi dictator used to frolic with his worryingly named dog. "Hitler's greatest pleasure was when Blondie would jump a few centimetres higher than the last time, and he would say that going out with his dog was the most relaxing thing he could do."

Blondie, who slept in Hitler’s bedroom in his underground bunk, was to meet a grizzly and untimely end, at the hands of her own master. As the news reached Hitler that the Russians were getting nearer, he fed his dog a cyanide tablet and watched her die. Some say Hitler was testing the suicide pills on her first to make sure he would be killed before the Russian soldiers found him, rather than merely disabling him, whilst others say he could not bare the thought of the soldiers tormenting or killing his dog, so he did it first.

Either way, poor Blondie, like so many others, died at the hands of one of the most hated people in history.

Dog-alike rating: It is often said that people are just like their dogs, and even adopt the traits of their pet, but in the case of the meat eating, bounding, fun loving sheepdog and her master, this probably couldn’t be further from the truth. 0/5

White House dogs at a glance.

Bill Clinton's Chocolate Labrador named Buddy, after an uncle who died shortly before the President got the dog. Buddy was killed by a car in January. Former President Clinton described Buddy as “loyal companion who would be truly missed.”

Ronald Regan had two dogs during his time in the Oval Office. One was Bouvier Des Flandres called Lucky and a King Charles Spaniel called Rex. Rex replaced Lucky, as lucky was given to a friend as she grew too big.
Gerald Ford named his Golden Retriever Liberty. Liberty had a litter of pups whilst she lived at the White House.

Lyndon B Johnston caused a storm of controversy when he lifted up his Beagle, named ‘Him’ by the ears whilst on a press junket. The sister of ‘Him’, named ‘her’ was left with her ears in tact.

Franklin D. Roosevelt possibly had the most dogs at any one time whilst in office. His love of dogs was obvious. The lucky pups that got to live with the 32nd President were Major, German Shepherd, Meggie, Scotish Terrier, Winks, Llewellyn Setter, Tiny, English Sheepdog, President, Great Dane, and Fa la, the Scottish Terrier.

Abraham Lincoln had a dog called Fido, who had when he lived in Springfield, Illinois before moving to the White House. As he was scared of the sound of bells, the President opted to leave Fido with his neighbour in Illinois, as he didn’t want to see his dog traumatised. Fido died twelve months after his master’s assassination.

John Kennedy Jr. son of JFK, one of the most popular presidents in American history was never without the company of dogs thanks to his father’s love of, in particular German Shepherds. JFK related in an interview with Larry King that his earliest memory was of a dog called Pushinka, who was given to his father by the then premier of the Soviet Union. Pushinka was the daughter of Laika, the first dog in space.

K9 Magazine Digital:
This editorial appeared in K9 Magazine Issue 15. To view more from the K9 Magazine archive, click here.