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Van life with a dog: freedom or stress on four wheels?
by Darina Schweizer
America’s «First Dog» bites agents – and four more animals who have made the headlines
26-7-2023
Translation: Elicia Payne
When you hear in the media that Joe Biden’s dog has an aggression problem, you know it’s silly season in journalism. No matter what the news situation is, animals have always made the headlines. Whether they belong to famous personalities or are famous themselves.
Oh no! Will Commander now face impeachment, as his predecessor did? We’ll find out sooner or later, just like with the other four animals, some of which are still making headlines today.
Larry, the mouser at the British Cabinet
David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss – at some point they’ve all lived at the same address in London: 10 Downing Street, the official office and residence of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Currently, Rishi Sunak is allowed to live there, but we don’t know for how long. The only thing that is certain when Sunak leaves is that someone will stay: Larry the cat.
We don’t know anything about Larry’s background. What’s known is that an animal welfare organisation took in the feral cat in 2011. Since then, he’s been living at 10 Downing Street. The time in office for the «Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office» has been the one undisputed constant in the British government for years.
Corgis, the royal fur butts
Speaking of Great Britain, it’s not just the government with an animal at the top. Case in point: the Royal Family and their dogs. Queen Elizabeth II’s love for her corgis was almost as famous as her own title. Corgis are the dogs with stubby legs, bat ears and a butt that makes Kim Kardashian green with envy. They’ve been part of the Windsor family since the 1930s.
Elizabeth kept more than 30 corgis throughout her life. Most of them descended from Susan, the very first corgi Elizabeth got when she was 18 years old. The welfare of the four-legged friends was always close to her heart. The corgis had their own room, servants and even a cook to keep them healthy. Since Elizabeth’s death in September 2022, Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Fergie have been looking after her last two corgis.
Stubbs, the mayor of Alaska
«A cat will sort it out.» This may have been what the people of Talkeetna, Alaska thought when they elected Stubbs mayor in 1998. A year prior to this, the manager of a general store had adopted the cat. Apparently, the people of Talkeetna were dissatisfied with the human candidates in the election, which is why Stubbs ultimately won the race.
Granted, Stubbs was «only» an honorary mayor. Talkeetna is a historic district and doesn’t even have an official mayor’s office. But this didn’t diminish Stubbs’ international popularity. A true tourist attraction with his own social media presence, he made the headlines time and again.
In mid-2017, Mayor Stubbs passed away at the grand feline age of just over 20 years. Online, there are numerous obituaries and stories about «America's Most Honest Politician».
«Cocaine Hippos», Pablo Escobar’s Legacy
Pablo Escobar, once the most powerful drug lord in the world, could afford a decadent lifestyle. For example, he gave free rein to his affinity for exotic animals and created his own private zoo on his estate in Colombia, the «Hacienda Napoles». In addition to elephants, tigers and giraffes, he also flew in four African hippos.
The Colombian authorities’ plans include relocating several dozen hippos and moving them to zoos and sanctuaries that have space for them. In doing so, about 60 animals could find a new home at Greens Zoological Rescue & Rehabilitation Kingdom in Gujarat, India, the largest zoo in the world.
On that note, I have one question remaining: when is «Cocaine Hippos» the sequel to «Cocaine Bear»](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuWEEKeJLMI&ab_channel=UniversalPictures) coming out?
Header image: Keystone-SDA / Patrick Semansky
I'm a full-blooded dad and husband, part-time nerd and chicken farmer, cat tamer and animal lover. I would like to know everything and yet I know nothing. I know even less, but I learn something new every day. What I am good at is dealing with words, spoken and written. And I get to prove that here.
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