By Christie Keith
August 26, 2009

Ted Kennedy died yesterday, and the press, pundits and talking heads are using all kinds of words to describe him: lion of the senate, the last brother, the great liberal.

He was all those things, and others less complimentary, to many people in this country, but I’m going to set that and all political words aside and say this: Senator Edward Kennedy loved his dogs. From a 2006 Boston Globe profile:

Follow the senior senator from Massachusetts, known for beating up tobacco lobbyists and conservative Supreme Court nominees, into his Capitol Hill office – the inner office, the one decorated with a framed, handwritten note from John F. Kennedy as a child, with pictures of Edward M. Kennedy standing alongside Martin Luther King and past presidents – and he quickly morphs into 8-year-old Teddy Kennedy. “Do you know how much I missed you? Do you KNOW how much I missed you?” Kennedy coos at Splash, his Portuguese water dog who has been awaiting his owner’s return from a Senate committee hearing. Kennedy bounces a tennis ball, sending the large, curly-haired canine running around the bustling office before settling comfortably next to the senator.

It seems the Senator loved his dogs not in a general, what-politician-who-wants-to-get-re-elected-doesn’t-love-dogs, absent-minded kind of way, but in the silly, devoted, sometimes slightly crazy way that we do.

He took his dogs to work every day. He let himself be made foolish by his dog in front of a reporter. He laughed when his dogs barked at other senators who were getting a little hot under the collar during caucus. He even let his Portuguese Water Dog, Splash, write a book about him, “Me and My Senator.” And of course, he’s the guy who made America’s First Dog a Portie, too.

Rest in peace, Senator Kennedy, dog lover.
http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2009/08/26/eulogy-for... /


Senator Edward Kennedy passed away August 25, and many eulogies are being offered for his public service by people on all sides of the current political debates. But some people are remembering Senator Kennedy for his legendary love for dogs.

Author Christy Keith at Pet Connection has a lovely tribute to the late senator in which she describes his devotion to his dog Splash – a devotion all true dog lovers will recognize in themselves.

In the National Journal Online, Senator Judd Gregg recalls spending hours negotiating with Senator Kennedy on policy matters in Kennedy’s office. And Senator Kennedy’s dog Splash would always be there, locked away with the lawmakers as they debated the issues.

A Seattle Times piece recalls Senator Kennedy’s final days, including his “sacred” morning ritual that included “scratching the bellies of his beloved Portuguese water dogs, Sunny and Splash.”

The Los Angeles Times notes that Senator Kennedy is remembered by many as a dog lover and an animal advocate, stating that the senator was influential in passing animal welfare legislation, including laws aimed at preventing dogfighting and cockfighting and legislation that protected farm animals.

Senator Kennedy penned the children’s book “My Senator and Me: A Dog’s Eye View of Washington, D.C.” which the Times calls “an introduction to the political process aimed at elementary-aged kids” told from the viewpoint of Splash.

And of course, Senator Kennedy recently gave us our new First Dog of the United States when he presented Bo, a Portuguese water dog, to President Obama and his family as a gift.

The Los Angeles Times piece sums it up very well:

Say what you will about Sen. Ted Kennedy — he certainly had his share of faults — but the man sure did love animals. We’re thinking today not just of the human family he left behind, but also of Sunny and Splash, who we’re sure are among those who will grieve the most for their master.

Frankie The Law Dog Tributes to Senator Ted Kennedy, Dog Lover