By Marc Rod
The Bush political dynasty added another member Monday: Sully HW Bush, a yellow Labrador service dog for former President George HW Bush.
Sully can perform a two-page list of commands, including answering the phone and fetching items.
“As one person said, he can do just about anything except make you a martini, but not to worry, he can go get you someone to make you a martini!” Bush spokesman Jim McGrath said.
Sully is named after former airline pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III, who became famous for landing a damaged passenger jet on the Hudson River and saving all 155 passengers and crew aboard in 2009.
Sully was trained by Guide Dog Foundation and America’s VetDogs, a nonprofit that provides service dogs at no cost to veterans, active-duty service members and first responders with disabilities, according to the America’s VetDogs website.
The dogs are trained to help with various disabilities, including blindness or low vision, post-traumatic stress disorder and hearing loss. The group also provides facility dogs to help rehabilitate service members and veterans in military and Veterans Affairs hospitals.
Sully will have an active Instagram account, @sullyhwbush, which has already posted its first photo and will post daily pictures from Sully’s point of view.
The account aims to highlight the importance of service dogs for individuals with disabilities.
Bush uses a wheelchair and has been hospitalized several times in recent months for conditions including low blood pressure and an infection that spread to his blood.
Bush also met Monday with former President Bill Clinton and congratulated him on the publication of his novel, “The President Is Missing,” written with author James Patterson. Bush commemorated the occasion by wearing a pair of socks with Clinton’s face on them.
“Special visit today with a great friend — and now, a best-selling author. Luckily I had a freshly laundered pair of @BillClinton socks to mark the occasion,” Bush tweeted.
This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s name.
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