Corgi Friday: Corgi on a Swing, Corgis on a Raft, & California’s First Dog

A CORGI MIGHT SAVE CALIFORNIA’S BUDGET CRISIS

Earlier this week, Sutter — a seven-year-old Pembroke Welsh corgi — was officially made the first dog of California by California’s First Lady, Anne Gust Brown. He was originally owned by Governor Jerry Brown’s sister Kathleen, who left him in the care of the new governor when she moved to Chicago.

Sutter now accompanies the Browns to the state capitol every day, where he helps to bridge the partisan gap:

The dog has emerged as the warm-and-fuzzy counterpoint to the often blunt demeanor of the veteran Democratic politician, and his scratch-me-on-the-belly playfulness has disarmed even the governor’s most persistent political foes during the sometimes-testy discussions over how to close the state’s $27 billion deficit.

“Sutter and I have developed a relationship,” said Senate Republican Leader Bob Dutton, one of the legislative leaders with whom Brown has to negotiate on the state budget. “I met him down at the governor’s conference room. As we got to talking, I noticed there was a fur ball under my seat. He was very calm, laying there, sleeping. I think he was looking at me to be a protector of the taxpayer’s dollars.” [...]

The move appears to be paying political dividends. Sightings of Brown and his wife walking Sutter near their midtown loft or to and from the Capitol have become fixtures since his inauguration at the start of the year…

Sutter appears to have softened the image of a governor, who at 72, isn’t known for charm and has acknowledged that he rarely smiles. [AP/Yahoo]

Dude, how many times have I said that pictures of corgis could resolve the Israel-Palestine dispute? It’s about time that politicians caught on. Barack Obama could have handed Bill O’Reilly a corgi during that Super Bowl interview, and O’Reilly would have been all, “This dog is making me smile. You can’t explain that.”