Diplo-Dogs
How do you relax after a hard day of international diplomacy? With a bone and a chew-toy. At least that's what goes on at the home of our Deputy Chief of Mission, Cameron Munter. Cameron's dogs were recently profiled in "Moj Pies [My Dog]," a leading magazine for animal-lovers in Poland. In an article on diplomatic pets, the publication explores why Blackberry and Ditka won't just roll over and play dead in the face of an international challenge.
“The Labrador of Four Rivers”
By Janina Blikowska
Mój Pies, December 2002
Ditka is a real diplomatic dog. She arrived at the Embassy of the United States from postings in Prague and Bonn …
American diplomat Cameron Munter, together with his wife and 10-year-old daughter Anna, has lived in Warsaw since their vacation this year. He is Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy. Before he came to Poland, he was posted to Prague and Bonn. So that his daughter wouldn’t feel alone in a new place, he and his wife decided to buy her a small dog. The choice was a miniature schnauzer.
“She was very cute,” says Anna. The black and golden furball was named “Blackberry,” which can be translated as “jeżynka.” The little puppy found its way to a house where there already was a dog – a 10-year-old Labrador named Ditka, bought during the assignment in Prague.
“It is a nickname for Edytka,” says Marilyn, wife of the diplomat. “We wanted to have a Labrador, because they are family dogs. In the United States, this breed is very popular, but ten years ago in the then Czechoslovakia it was totally unknown. We found our dog through a classified ad in the newspaper. We brought her all the way from Karlovy Vary.” “I guess it’s the only dog of this breed that ever took a bath in four rivers: the Vltava, the Rhine, the Vistula and the Potomac,” adds the Chargé d’Affaires.
At Receptions at the Residence
The dogs in the Munter family are very friendly. They’re crazy about playing and being cuddled. Blackberry, in particular, loves mischief, and her size doesn’t seem to be a problem for her. At first, Ditka was a little jealous of her, but today she’s an ideal caretaker for the smaller dog,” says Cameron Munter. When receptions are held at the American diplomat’s residence, the smaller dog is locked away in one of the rooms upstairs, while Ditka – like all seasoned diplomats (after all, she has 10 years’ experience) – takes part in them. “Then she stretches out in the living room and watches for something to drop from the table by accident. Sometimes something does. She likes eating in between meals. When we lived in Prague, our neighbors used to feed her rolls and we wondered why she was gaining weight,” says Cameron Munter. Like the rest of his family, Mr. Munter likes walking his pets in a little square on Niepodległości Street or going to Piłsudski Park. Time allowing, the Munters go to Wilanów, where Ditka goes crazy in the nearby fields.
(The text is re-printed/translated with permission of the publisher.)
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