Not even politicians’ best friends were spared from 2016’s wrath.
Governors on both coasts this week said goodbye to the beloved first dogs of their states – Lexi of Maryland, 16, and Sutter Brown of California, 13.
Sutter, a Welch corgi, was the cuddly adorable foil to Gov. Jerry Brown, a gruff 78-year-old Democrat who prefers quoting philosophers to kissing babies.
Brown’s sister gifted Sutter to the newly elected governor in 2010, and lobbyists and lawmakers of both parties in Sacramento became enamored with the pooch. Sutter’s Twitter page, loaded with cute photos and the occasional message encouraging conservation, amassed more than 11,000 followers. His official page on the governor’s website touted regular appearances on Buzzfeed’s “Most Important Corgis” list.
Sutter also proved to be a potent political asset.
He traveled the state with Brown in 2012 as the governor promoted a successful ballot initiative to increase taxes. At the governor’s 2014 state of the state address, Brown showed playing cards featuring photos of Sutter and messages encouraging fiscal discipline, such as “Bark if you don’t like deficits.”
Heeding Sutter’s success, a Republican lawmaker tried to launch a similar social media campaign around his cat. It didn’t do as well. (Californians are apparently dog people.)
In October, the governor’s office received an outpouring of support after announcing Sutter underwent surgery for an aggressive form of cancer that couldn’t be cured. The corgi returned to the governor’s mansion after a week and a half in the hospital, greeting trick-or-treaters in a bumblebee costume and celebrating one last Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Sutter’s health deteriorated rapidly in recent days, a spokeswoman for Brown said, and the governor and first lady decided “it was time to say goodbye.” He died Friday, with his owners at his side, and is buried at the governor’s family ranch in rural Colusa County where “he loved to roam, sniff and play.”
“It’s a sad day for all who loved Sutter,” said Brown spokeswoman Deborah Hoffman.
Colusa “Lucy” Brown, a fellow corgi who joined the governor’s family as a puppy in 2015, will take over first dog duties.
Maryland’s Lexi played a more low-key role in Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration. He’d occasionally post photos of her to his Facebook page, including when she returned home from a five-day stay in the hospital in September 2015. Hogan would walk the dog around the governor’s mansion while he was undergoing chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2015.
Two days after Christmas, Lexi died in Hogan’s arms as the governor kissed her goodbye. The cause was old age, an spokesman said.
Hogan’s heartfelt tribute to Lexi on Facebook drew about 1,500 sympathetic comments and 4,700 “sad” reactions.
“They say that a dog is man’s best friend. That sure was true for me. For 16 years our dog Lexi has been a much loved member of our family. Through good times and bad, she was always happy, and her love was unconditional. It is hard to describe how much she meant to us and how much joy she brought to our hearts. Our family is so thankful, not only for the 16 years we got to spend with her, but also that we got to spend this one last Christmas with her. Sadly at 10:40 am this morning Lexi died in my arms as I kissed her goodbye. ‘Dogs have a way of finding people who need them, and filling an emptiness we didn’t ever know we had.’ We sure will miss her.”
