EDITORIAL: Don’t underestimate the dog factor

Attack dogs were loose in the House of Representatives last week. A small but loudly snarling pack of radicals chased their own party’s speaker of the House out of office. A first in U.S. history, it was the big news of the week.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away lesser news of a canine nature was being made at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. A vicious dog owned by the president was finally banished from the White House. The “vicious” adjective was earned by biting and injuring Secret Service agents and White House staff members at least 11 times over a period of months.

President Biden has important business to attend to, what with Ukraine, the border and a dysfunctional Congress, among other worldwide worries, but that doesn’t make indulging bad behavior by a pet to the detriment of people who work for him a minor matter.

Dogs matter—a lot. Their population has exploded in recent years. They now number more than 90 million in the U.S., about 15 million more than a decade ago. Most of the millions of people who own them likely have strong feelings of affection for their pets and dogs in general.

Anecdotal evidence of the rise in the influence of dogs is available daily in the parks and streets of Port Washington and other Ozaukee communities. Walkers with dogs often outnumber those without a canine companion. More than exercise, the parade of pets offers opportunities for social engagement. Dog walkers meet and greet and talk about their dogs while their dogs meet and sniff.

As the dog population has grown, so too, it seems, has attention to the responsibilities of dog ownership. The leashed dogs are generally well mannered, in many cases the result of appropriate training, as are most of their owners, who are willing and adept in plastic-bag use to clean up after their beloved pets.

Dogs are valued for more than companionship. In a society where interaction among humans can be insulting, abrasive or even hostile, dogs are known to give their owners unconditional admiration. Hence, the recent inspirational message of the day on an electric sign in front of a Port Washington church urged viewers to “be the person your dog thinks you are.”

It is not known, of course, how the White House dog named Commander felt about his owner, but the German shepherd made his feelings about others plain with serial biting incidents. In one that occurred last November, a Secret Service officer was bitten on the arm and thigh so seriously that he was taken to a hospital for treatment.

The New York Times quoted a source who described a White House work environment that was made  “hostile” and “dangerous” for months by the threatening dog. The head of an organization representing federal law enforcement officers asked, “How many bites will it take” for the president to act?

The president finally did make the decision to find new lodgings for the dog. That it took so many bites for an elected leader thought to have keen political instincts to do that is surprising. So too is the perception that the president was insensitive to the effect of the lingering workplace hazard on the morale of the men and women who work there solely to protect him.

Biden is running for a second term, and in spite of low approval ratings has some solid accomplishments on which to base his campaign. But he had better hope voters, and especially the dog lovers among them, don’t judge him on his dog ownership record.