Althouse: A photo.

December 3, 2018

A photo.

View this post on Instagram

As much as our family is going to miss this dog, we’re comforted to know he’ll bring the same joy to his new home, Walter Reed, that he brought to 41.
A post shared by George W. Bush (@georgewbush) on Dec 2, 2018 at 6:55pm PST

53 comments:

Darrell said...: Even more sad.; 12/3/18, 8:13 AM
Greg Hlatky said...: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachikō; 12/3/18, 8:16 AM
Tommy Duncan said...: I get all misty when I think about the dogs I have known in my life.; 12/3/18, 8:21 AM
Dave Begley said...: You've got to hand it to the Bush family. They are good at legacy building. Not quite as good as that other family of patrician New Englanders, but still very good.

But with at least the Bushes, it is real.; 12/3/18, 8:21 AM
Big Mike said...: @Dave Begley, yes, it is real.; 12/3/18, 8:27 AM
Ralph L said...: The catafalque brings to mind the best part of Morris's bio of RR: the Bushes gave him a side table of a large Presidential Seal supported by two of his cowboy boots. Nancy was disgusted by the kitsch and put it out in the stable. Barbara complained to Morris about her ingratitude while clicking her knitting needles.

Not even Morris noticed the reference to "Where's the rest of me?"; 12/3/18, 8:28 AM
CWJ said...: Anyone who's ever passed off having a phony service animal should be forced to view this photo. If they feel no shame, they are beyond help.; 12/3/18, 8:29 AM
MountainMan said...: Labs are wonderful companions.; 12/3/18, 8:30 AM
Dave Begley said...: Clicking her knitting needles. A Tale of Two Cities.; 12/3/18, 8:31 AM
rhhardin said...: Thurber did a cartoon of a dog patient and duty-bound guarding his master's gravestone. He and E.B.White agreed that they'd publish it when one of them died, but it was never published. I don't see it online.

I think I was it in The Thurber Letters but the rough-cut pages make flipping through it very hard. 800 pages.; 12/3/18, 8:33 AM
gilbar said...: i'm supposed to spit milk all over my monitor while reading Althouse,
not drip tears on keyboard :(

May GOD bless HW; 12/3/18, 8:36 AM
Ralph L said...: Not quite as good as that other family of patrician New Englanders

The Adamses are still respected 200 years later. If you meant the parvenu Kennedys, the dirty laundry did them in with decent people.; 12/3/18, 8:38 AM
Dave Begley said...: Question: Has any American family contributed more to the greatness of America than the Bush family? Prescott, 41, 43 and Jeb. The Kennedys don't even come close as Teddy was a total and complete disgrace. Lion of the Senate my ass. More like Lech of the Senate.; 12/3/18, 8:38 AM
Dave Begley said...: The Adams weren't patricians. The first Adams was a working lawyer and farmer.; 12/3/18, 8:39 AM
Ann Althouse said...: It's a lovely, expressive photograph, the artwork of human beings. I don't believe the dog knows his master is in the casket.; 12/3/18, 8:47 AM
Ralph L said...: Edward VII's terrier Caesar walked behind his casket in the streets of London. Wilhelm II was allegedly so miffed at being upstaged by a dog--and at English sentimentality--that it helped lead to WW I.; 12/3/18, 8:48 AM
Darrell said...: I don't believe the dog knows his master is in the casket.

I think he does. By the smell.
I've seen dogs find the right casket when there are several around.; 12/3/18, 8:49 AM
James K said...: I don't believe the dog knows his master is in the casket.

Probably not, though there have been a number of stories (like this one) about a dog staying by his deceased master's grave, refusing to leave.; 12/3/18, 8:52 AM
Ralph L said...: The Roosevelts were far more consequential, for good and ill, though they were close kin only by Eleanor's marriage.; 12/3/18, 8:53 AM
Ralph L said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/3/18, 8:55 AM
Ralph L said...: They needed working lawyers in Eden?

Still way more respectable than Joe Sr and progeny.; 12/3/18, 8:56 AM
tim in vermont said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/3/18, 9:00 AM
tim in vermont said...: It’s kind of a tale of downward mobility in America

Bootlegger to murderers to a passel of simple drunken rapists in two generations.; 12/3/18, 9:04 AM
narciso said...: Well the delanos were dope traders in China, in the 19th century ironic in light of fdrs
Pro China stance vs Japan; 12/3/18, 9:10 AM
Big Mike said...: I don't believe the dog knows his master is in the casket.

Believe what you feet like, but some breeds have an amazing sense of smell and dogs are brighter than most people give them credit for.; 12/3/18, 9:11 AM
Guildofcannonballs said...: A strong case can be made very few families have damaged America more than the Bush's with their love of illegal immigration, war, and filthy lucre.

If history comes to show Kamalla carrying FL,OH,TX,PA etc. comfortably I hope those who champion the Bush clan now understand: Your offspring will hate what you have left them, if their allowed to read about what America once was before the Bushstorms hit. Even if not, they will know shit ain't right, deep down.; 12/3/18, 9:12 AM
tim maguire said...: Is this the wrong time to object to the Bush's habit of referring to HW and W as 41 and 43, respectively? It undermines their whole dignified WASP schtick.

They were both men of class and integrity (even if not particularly good presidents). This sort of boasting should be beneath them.; 12/3/18, 9:13 AM
Big Mike said...: Blogger Ralph L said...
They needed working lawyers in Eden?

What do you think the serpent did for a living?; 12/3/18, 9:17 AM
James K said...: I'd argue that the Obama family has done more damage to America than any other, even though it was only one presidency.; 12/3/18, 9:19 AM
tcrosse said...: I don't believe the dog knows his master is in the casket.

So maybe they threw a pork chop in the box with him to keep the dog interested.; 12/3/18, 9:21 AM
JPS said...: tim maguire,

"Is this the wrong time to object to the Bush's habit of referring to HW and W as 41 and 43, respectively?"

I don't know. Referring to George Herbert Walker Bush versus George Walker Bush is cumbersome. You can't properly refer to George Bush Senior or Junior. "Pere"/"Fils": too pretentious. The Elder...nah.

I've been thinking of Bush 41 and Bush 43 for a long time. Not ideal, and I like the alternatives less. Except maybe your HW and W.; 12/3/18, 9:22 AM
Trumpit said...: If God were a loving, merciful and just God, George W. Bush ("Dubya") would be in that casket in tandem with evil Dick, Cheney instead of his father, and the dog wouldn't look so forlorn. Those two deserve a burial at sea like with Bin Laden.; 12/3/18, 9:25 AM
rhhardin said...: The news is of some upcoming ceremonies, the arrival ceremony, blah blah. It's a media problem, not a Bush problem. Who can stand that crap.; 12/3/18, 9:34 AM
rhhardin said...: There's a need for surprise ceremonies. 41's remains shot into the sea from a large cannon.

Let the media contemplate that.; 12/3/18, 9:35 AM
CWJ said...: Big Mike FTW; 12/3/18, 9:35 AM
Big Mike said...: Trumpit, Ritmo, and Inga: three turds in the punch bowl.; 12/3/18, 9:36 AM
rhhardin said...: How do we know Bush is in the box, let alone the dog.; 12/3/18, 9:37 AM
rhhardin said...: My father, who for theological reasons did not believe in the mental capacity of dogs, spoke to my dog in pig latin, lest he be understood. Ixnay. Nevertheless the dog understood him.; 12/3/18, 9:39 AM
Mark said...: Just got a call from my mom.

Her dog was hit by a car yesterday and killed.; 12/3/18, 9:44 AM
RK said...: It's a lovely, expressive photograph, the artwork of human beings. I don't believe the dog knows his master is in the casket.

Some of the most emotionally powerful photographs I've ever seen are of dogs doing just this, which is why I agree this is human artwork. I think he only had the dog a few months.; 12/3/18, 9:47 AM
Birches said...: I've been thinking of Bush 41 and Bush 43 for a long time. Not ideal, and I like the alternatives less. Except maybe your HW and W.

I just explained this to my son this morning. Numbers make it easier to quickly convey whom you are speaking about.; 12/3/18, 9:47 AM
FullMoon said...: I assumed they would keep the dog on the ranch.

Friend of mine from poor village in Mexico said dad's dog stayed at the grave when dad died. Maybe family lore but he believed it.; 12/3/18, 9:53 AM
rhhardin said...: I assumed they would keep the dog on the ranch.

The dog loves his work. Let him work for somebody else who needs him.; 12/3/18, 10:00 AM
Ralph L said...: A well-trained dog shouldn't go to waste.

I sure hope the Bushes learned from the McCain triple funeral extravaganza and go low-key or at least not try to outdo it.; 12/3/18, 10:02 AM
tcrosse said...: "Greyfriars Bobby (May 4, 1855 – January 14, 1872) was a Skye Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he died himself on 14 January 1872. The story continues to be well known in Scotland, through several books and films. A prominent commemorative statue and nearby graves are a tourist attraction." - Wikipedia; 12/3/18, 10:04 AM
narciso said...: Dogs are more loyal than people, there endeth the lesson.; 12/3/18, 10:44 AM
Anonymous said...: Remember:

He's part of your life,
but you are all of his.

though staged, it's a great photo.; 12/3/18, 10:45 AM
rhhardin said...: More news, there will be a brief departure ceremony in Houston before the brief arrival ceremony in DC.

Everybody taking the path of least resistance, theater-wise.; 12/3/18, 11:04 AM
rhhardin said...: Dogs are into the relationship. The guy stabilizes the world that makes sense.; 12/3/18, 11:05 AM
Rosalyn C. said...: There is no way of proving this but I think that the dog, especially a trained service dog, has situational awareness. The people around the dog have been talking about what is happening, that his master is gone. We don't have any better idea than Sully, the dog, where GHW Bush is now, which is a little amusing considering our superiority.

I saw a timetable of the funeral arrangements and there will be a service in the National Cathedral, and another one at an Espiscopal church in Houston, TX and then another one at the Bush Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, before burial.

I'm grateful that we don't have to go through all that drama about Trump not being invited, and maybe this time there will be some healing and unity in the nation. I hope that the media will cooperate but who knows?; 12/3/18, 12:21 PM
Will said...: As one who serves as a puppy host to guide dogs I am not surprised by this picture. They are
exquisite creatures.; 12/3/18, 1:50 PM
Spodbox said...: I recently spent three months on active duty funeral detail and what strikes me about this picture (other than the loyalty of the dog) is the fact that the flag on Bush's casket is *identical* to the ones we used for PFCs who had left the service 40 years ago. Says something about the sociological leveling of military service, doesn't it?; 12/3/18, 3:37 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: I was looking at a hot piece of ass walking her dog last week on the sidewalk to my right when out of my left eye I caught a glimpse of something.

Slammed the brakes.

It looked like a labradoodle, and it turned and looked at me as it bolted around in a circle and back into the corner yard and into an open, waiting door that then shut quickly. I think my car touched him but obviously not very hard.

I looked at the hot piece which was now a face, not ass, and I must have looked shocked, as she sure did.

Drove away.

Sorry to hear about your mom's dog, very difficult.; 12/3/18, 5:44 PM