I didn’t know Clinton had a dog. I knew his old dog Buddy met the same fate as his previous dog — they were both unsupervised and hit by cars. I now see from Buddy’s Wikipedia entry that they have a new lab Seamus. I’d like to know: Who walks Seamus? Bill and Hillary are constantly traveling after all. This is a pet peeve of mine (no pun intended) as a somewhat fanatical dog lover. Lots of people in my neighborhood have dogs that I never see walked except occasionally by the housekeeper. I think that if you own a dog, you should take responsibility for it. At least Bush lives and travels with Barney and Miss Beasley. Walking the dog that stays in one of your houses every now and then on the beach and then returning it to the maid, intern or Secret Service agent doesn’t really amount to having a dog. You’re using a dog, no doubt in part for photo-ops and humanizing anecdotes.

Update: Tough crowd. From a reader:

Will your pooch be walked by you or someone else during the book tour? Glass houses, etc………

Me: Well, there is my wife who shares custody of Cosmo (in the legal sense, Cosmo believes he belongs to no one). And when she’s not around he stays with my sister-in-law and his cousin Buckley (with whom he patrols for squirrels and cats pretty much every single day). They live about six houses distance up the street. Also, I work from home, so even if this were the most extensive book tour ever, I would still spend roughly 95% of my time within tennis-ball throwing distance of my canine companion. Heck the Goldbergs drive cross country every summer in no small part because we feel it’s not a real vacation unless the whole family comes. Sorry if I sound defensive, but no one should question my dedication to my wing-hound (see the acknowledgments in my book, for example).