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Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian
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Uno the Beagle knows how to celebrate his birthday in style. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Best in Show winner spent Monday, his third birthday, at the White House with President and Laura Bush.
“Oh, my gosh!” exclaimed breeder and co-owner Kathy Weichert of Belleville, Ill., to the Belleville News-Democrat. “It was thrilling to shake [President Bush’s] hand, and he gave us a hug.”
Uno received a red, white, and blue collar and leash from the Bushes. Weichert says Uno met the President for a “really, really nice and fairly long meeting” before entertaining 270 visiting school children and Girl Scouts. Four children gave speeches about why they love their dogs, Weichert said.
Missing from the festivities were the Bushes’ popular Scottish Terriers, Barney and Miss Beazley, because, as Weichert explained, they’re “not very dog-friendly.”
Uno left the White House to visit injured soldiers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and returned to his hometown of Belleville Monday night.
Uno retired from competition after winning Westminster. “There’s nothing else to top,” Weichert said at the time.