IN A dog-loving nation like France, every president knows the value of man’s best friend. Mitterrand prized his black labrador and Nicolas Sarkozy once had a chihuahua named Big. But for ex-presidential pets, life after the Élysee can be a bitch.
Jacques Chirac’s miniature white maltese, Sumo, has been banished by the former president after becoming so depressed about leaving the presidential palace that he began routinely savaging his master. Although the Chiracs now live in a vast Paris apartment, Sumo has been on antidepressants to deal with the loss of the presidential garden, where he once roamed freely with a golden retriever named Scott.
The dog had been treated for mental health problems after biting the 76-year-old ex-president on the leg earlier this year. But the maulings have worsened in recent days. Chirac’s wife, Bernadette, yesterday came clean to the press, admitting that she had had to banish Sumo to a farm.
“It was after dinner, I was reading and Sumo was lying on the floor,” she said. “My husband came in and the dog jumped up very high in the air and bit him on the stomach. I was extremely frightened by all the blood. It’s awful, those little teeth.”
She said Sumo "couldn't bear the departure from the Elysee" but after his departure to a farm away from his master, Sumo hadn't bitten again. – ( Guardianservice)