Bush’s dog Sully remains loyal to the last
At the 1988 Republican convention, at which his party formally nominated him for the presidency, George Bush Sr declared: ‘‘I’m a man who sees life in terms of missions – missions defined and missions completed.’’
It was not the most memorable phrase of the former navy pilot’s speech; unfortunately for Bush that proved to be the pledge ‘‘read my lips: no new taxes’’ which hobbled his reelection chances against Bill Clinton four years later.
However, the line echoed through the decades on the eve of the 41st American president’s final trip to Washington when Jim McGrath, his spokesman, shared a photograph of Bush’s service dog keeping vigil by his flag-draped coffin with the caption: ‘‘Mission complete’’.
The yellow labrador appeared mournful but devoted, with his head resting on his front left paw as he lay on a rug in front of the raised casket. The image resonated across social media at the start of a week of national mourning for a president who dared to dream, in that 1988 convention speech, of ‘‘a kinder, gentler nation’’.
Bush died at home in Houston on Saturday.
He was matched with Sully in June, shortly after the death of his wife, Barbara.
The dog was named after the airline pilot Chesley B ‘‘Sully’’ Sullenberger III, who landed a plane full of passengers on the Hudson River in 2009, and was trained by America’s VetDogs, a programme that provides animals to military veterans, active-duty service members and first responders with disabilities.
Bush was a great dog lover who relied on a wheelchair in his later years. Sully was able to perform an extensive list of tasks for him, including retrieving dropped items, opening doors and pressing an emergency button.
‘‘He can do just about anything except make you a martini, but not to worry, he can go get you someone to make you a martini,’’ McGrath said earlier in the year.
In his short time with the former president, Sully became something of a social media star, with an Instagram account that boasts more than 130,000 followers.
After travelling east with the casket from Texas aboard Air Force One yesterday Sully will continue his service at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Bethesda, Maryland, where he will assist with ‘‘physical and occupational therapy to wounded soldiers and active duty personnel during their journey to recovery,’’ America’s VetDogs said.
Bush’s body will lie in state at the Capitol until tomorrowmorning. A state funeral will be held at the National Cathedral in Washington.
Bush will then be returned to Houston to lie in repose at St Martin’s Episcopal Church before burial on Friday at his family plot in the grounds of his presidential library in College Station. –