ohmidog!

Barney, the Scottish terrier who was ”first dog” during President George W. Bush’s two terms in office, has passed away.

Bush broke the news on his Facebook page, where he also made public a recent oil painting he did of his dog.

“After twelve and a half years of life, his body could not fight off the illness,” Bush said in the post.

Barney had lymphoma.

Barney was born Sept. 30, 2000 — two months before Bush was elected to his first term.

In his Facebook post, Bush wrote, “Barney greeted Queens, Heads of State, and Prime Ministers. He was always polite and never jumped in their laps. Barney was by my side during our eight years in the White House. He never discussed politics and was always a faithful friend. Laura and I will miss our pal.”

Barney’s mother was Coors, a Scottish terrier owned by former Environmental Protection Agency Director Christine Todd Whitman, and his father was Kelly of Champion Motherwell Stormwarning.

Barney had his own section on the Bush administration’s official White House website, starred in numerous videos and was a fixture at the White House, the Bushes’ Crawford ranch and Camp David, where Barney’s favorite activity was chasing golf balls on the chipping green.

He was a “fierce armadillo hunter,” Bush wrote, who loved going along when he fished for bass at the ranch.

“Barney guarded the South Lawn entrance of the White House as if he were a Secret Service agent. He wandered the halls of the West Wing looking for treats from his many friends. He starred in Barney Cam and gave the American people Christmas tours of the White House.”

Barney also once bit a reporter who got too close.

The president, who has taken up painting since leaving the White House, also released a portrait he did of Barney. It is signed “43.”  Bush was the nation’s 43rd president.

Barney is survived by Miss Beazley, another Scottish terrier who lives with the ex-president, and Bob, a cat.

(Photo: Bush’s portrait of Barney, from Facebook)

Say what you will about our soon to depart from office president, the man has got pretty good reaction time, and was far cooler under pressure than I would have expected — considering the shoes hurled at his head today in Baghdad by an Iraqi journalist appear to miss their mark by only inches.

He was calm, if not overly articulate in the immediate aftermath, and even came up with a witty remark a little later. “I’m OK,” he said. “All I can report is it is a size 10.”

“This is your farewell kiss, you dog!” the shoe hurler shouted in Arabic as he threw his shoes, according to the Associated Press.

Whether George W. Bush is leaving the White House in disgrace is a matter best left for the political pundits — a group I am proud to say I don’t belong to — but as for his dog Barney, it seems he is definitely going out on a low note.

In addition to nipping a television journalist (good boy, Barney) this month, it has been revealed that, back in September, there was another biting incident — this one involving a public relations director (attaboy!).

Heather Walker, the public relations director for the Boston Celtics basketball team, has revealed how America’s First Dog bit her wrist and drew blood after she tried to pat him during a White House ceremony honoring the team’s 17th NBA championship.

“I walked into the White House and in the first area you walk into, there are Miss Beazley and Barney,”  Walker said. “They were sitting on this Oriental rug, and I just reached down to pat Barney and he attacked me.”

Both Miss Beazley and Barney are Scottish terriers.

Walker, who had her wrist wrapped with a bandage by a Boston Celtics trainer, spoke about her ordeal on Friday, just days after Barney bit Reuters television reporter John Decker’s finger when he reached down to pat the seemingly docile hound.

Walker said she had wanted to keep the Sept. 19 incident under wraps, but her hometown newspaper, The Salem (Mass.) News, reported it Friday, according to the Associated Press. 

Barney, despite starring in several White House Christmas videos and having his own official website, isn’t likely to go down as one of the most beloved first pets.

Karl Rove once described him as “a lump,” while former Russian president, Vladimir Putin, who owns a black labrador called Koni, is said to have remarked that such a small dog was unfitting for a world leader, the London Telegraph reports.

(Photo from www.barney.gov)

When dog bites man, that’s not news. But when the president’s dog is doing the biting, and a reporter’s hand is being bitten, well, that comes a little closer — and it’s definitely blogworthy.

Reuters reporter Jon Decker reached down to pet Barney, President Bush’s Scottish terrier, only to have the normally docile dog snap at him and bite his right index finger.

Reporter April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks happened to capture the moment on video.

Sally McDonough, a spokeswoman for first lady Laura Bush, said of Barney: “I think it was his way of saying he was done with the paparazzi.” She reported Decker “is being a good sport about it all.”

“I got bit by Barney and unfortunately it bit the skin, and I have to be on antibiotics for the next few days,” said Decker, who was bandaged after yesterday’s incident by the White House doctor.