Barney-cam

Dear Dog Lady,

I know I should be worrying about bombs over Baghdad, but I can't seem to get my mind off Barney, the terrier-ist. President George W. Bush's rambunctious Scottie is so adorable. How do I get to see more of Barney?

Maeve, Washington, D.C.

Maeve, ride the waeve to the Barney-cam. The White House has made it easy to follow the exploits of Barney Bush, the protocol-challenged Scotch terrier. Merely log into http://www.whitehouse.gov/ and click onto the Barney-cam. The video of Barney rampaging through the White House state rooms, shot at dog eye-level, was made especially for Christmas, but it's become such an Internet hit that I'm sure the First Pooch propaganda will continue well into the New Year. There's even a "making of" the Barney video to accompany the Barney-cam. Think whatever you will about President Bush, he does have commendable pet politics. The President and First Lady keep two dogs and a cat, but Barney is the camera hog.

When the Barney-cam debuted last month, it got 24 million hits on its first day of operation, the third most popular White House Web attraction since Bush took office. (On September 11, 2001, the official site logged 44 million hits). The Barney-cam splash even prompted Ari Fleischer, the president's spokesman, to refer to the spirited Scottie in the official White House briefing: "Barney is what you might call a 'publicity hound'," said Fleischer. "But he was unable to watch his own video because he hit the 'paws' button." As a purveyor of bad dog puns herself, Dog Lady appreciates this glimmer of Fleisher wit and wisdom

Posted by Dog Lady at February 28, 2003 12:00 PM