Dog Has Its Day on Capitol Hill

Competition is often fierce in the dog-eat-dog world of politics, and this time the Democrats won. Alice, a Belgian shepherd owned by Rep. Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) was named “top dog” of Congress, beating canines owned by four Republican competitors in a special Capitol Hill version of a dog food company’s Great American Dog contest. Alice’s reward was a check for $2,500 and 1,000 pounds of dog food, which will be donated to the humane society. She won a new leash and engraved name tag also. Foley observed: “That’s more than I ever won, except for elections.” Alice, a stray rescued by the Foleys at New York’s Kennedy International Airport 12 years ago, has come to Capitol Hill almost every day since, her proud owner said. The four other finalists and their owners were Duke, Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.); Reginald, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah); Seppel, Rep. Gerald B. Solomon (R-N.Y.); and Ben, Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska). Each received 500 pounds of dog food, which also will go to the humane society.

--Don Walsh of Illinois and Don Walsh of Wisconsin share more than the same name. Both are state Senate candidates, and they are sharing campaign buttons and bumper stickers as well as philosophies. “I figure it’s worth a savings of at least $1,000 for me,” said the Illinois Walsh, a 30-year-old paramedic supervisor with the Chicago Fire Department who is opposing a Democratic incumbent. Said the 38-year-old Wisconsin Walsh, who sells women’s apparel to department stores: “I think you’d find us pretty compatible. We’re both fiscal conservatives and a little moderate on social issues.” The inevitable alliance was sparked in June when John Gresh, a representative of the Republican National Committee, spotted a woman with a “Walsh for Senate” sticker at a Wisconsin GOP convention. She was campaigning for her husband, the Wisconsin Walsh, who also is opposing an incumbent. Win or lose, the pair could well extend their alliance beyond Election Day. “We’ve talked about tracing our relatives,” said the Illinois Walsh. “One way or another, we’re on the family tree. We both have relatives from Ireland.”

--Cuban President Fidel Castro has turned 60, and in honor of that milestone he has received numerous medals from other Communist Bloc nations, the official newspaper Granma reported. The Soviet Union presented the Cuban leader his third Order of Lenin, Granma reported. He was also awarded medals by Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Cambodia, Mongolia, Poland and Vietnam.