Kennedy's Office Had Gone to the Dogs

Portuguese water dogs were a furry fixture of senator's office
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 30, 2009 3:02 PM CDT
Kennedy's Office Had Gone to the Dogs
This Nov. 27, 2006 file photo shows Portuguese water dog, Splash, Sen. Edward Kennedy's dog, as he approaches Nicholas Davis, 9, of Boston, right at the Knight Children's Center in Boston.   (AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki, File)

Ted Kennedy may have been the Senate's liberal lion, but his office was clearly no place for cats, reports Politico in a look at the three Portuguese water dogs that were fixtures in his Washington digs. The pooches provided a warm, furry presence amid what could be tense negotiations, and with Kennedy's death, his colleagues say, the dogs are yet another thing they’ll miss about the man. “They were part of the landscape,” said Sandy Kress, who worked with Kennedy on No Child Left Behind.

“I had no problem patting the dog while talking about Section 10.32. It just created a pleasant environment,” Kress continued. “At one point, we got it into our heads that the dogs reacted poorly to committee members who weren’t No Child supporters. We always joked that the dogs knew best.”
(More Ted Kennedy stories.)

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