Every night when Karen Hansen of Elberon, N.J., comes home from work, she plops down on the floor for a game of dog pile. Before she can take off her coat, her Scottish Terriers, Ditto, 5, and Sully, 9, jump in her lap, lick her hair, and declare their joy to see her.

Hansen, president of the Scottish Terrier Club of America, says the varmint-hunting Scottish Terrier thinks for himself and may appear aloof to strangers “but not to their own people. The fact that they choose to love you – and it really is their choice – makes them so appealing,” she explains.

The Scottie’s big attitude, along with his small but sturdy physique and low shed factor, appeals to many people, including a few U.S. presidents. The current officeholder owns two Scotties, as did his predecessors Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

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