Local quest to be First Dog comes to an end

Hi. Baguette here, the foster dog who applied at www.change.gov to be First Dog in the Obama White House.

It’s a cliché, but true: it really is a dog-eat-dog world. Here’s an example from my job search.

My foster mom tried to press my case with a higher power. Business experts stress the importance of networking. Finding someone who knows the decision-maker is a good strategy. So, mom thought, why not seek help from one of President Obama’s Best Friends Forever (BFF), a man who came out early to help an unknown candidate, a man who just got a cool new job himself from the then president-elect? She thought, of course, of our own Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, who before Inauguration Day was introduced by the man himself as the new head of the Democratic National Committee.

I have to give the governor a wag of the tail for being open to listening as a stranger asked if he’d be willing to speak on behalf of a fellow Virginian who had applied for a position in the Obama administration.

“What position?”

“First Dog.”

Gov. Kaine has a wonderful smile and a warm laugh with twinkling eyes. That, I’m told, is how he received the request, only not for the reason you might think.

“Someone else already asked me to do that, and I never got a response!”

Wow, this turn of events raises several questions. First, how many nut cases are there in Virginia? Second, how come my personal nut case couldn’t get her paws on the governor first? Third, this governor gets the same response from his BFF as a foster mutt?

As a dog, I’m big into loyalty, and that just doesn’t sit right with me. At least Blackberry the governor, saying, “T(hank) Y(ou) 4 thoughts.”

Me personally? Still stonewall city. Mom telephoned the Obama press office and left a message with searing questions, such as how many other dogs applied online for First Dog and what other traits/skills/experiences are the Obamas looking for in a dog besides being hypoallergenic?

No response. Perhaps the questions stumped the press team. Perhaps the query became lost as other reporters that week inundated the press office with searing questions about the Obama daughters first day at school (wardrobe, lunch menus, backpack choices, etc.). As a hound, I have tested the air and have yet to find the scent of change.

Even my pen pal John Podesta, the head of the Obama transition team who had been e-mailing me every week, has left the scene. Now my “Dear Baguette” communiqués come from someone named Valerie Jarrett. She is

touting a Citizen’s Briefing Book, asking Jane Dog to submit ideas to the Obama administration. “If you participate, your idea could be included in the Citizen’s Briefing Book to be delivered to President Obama.”

Here are some ideas: Have your press office respond to all media queries! Always answer a message from a BFF!

It’s a dog-gone shame that my White House quest is over. It would have been nice if the Administration had thrown me a bone, like a rejection letter. I’ll wipe this hangdog look off my face, though, when thinking about this mission coming to its end. There’s no guarantee President Obama would have passed his interview with me for permanent dad anyway.

- Baguette’s typist, Sherbin, volunteers with the Bedford Humane Society. Find pets and volunteer/donation information at www. bedfordhumanesociety.petfinder.com.