Konni (dog)

Konni, a black Labrador Retriever and whose full name was Connie Paulgrave, was born in 1999. As writer Steven Lee Myers states, "she was said to be descended from a Labrador once owned by Leonid Brezhnev." She was also to be trained as a search and rescue dog at the Ministry of Emergency Situations near Noginsk, where in 2000, she was presented to President Vladimir Putin as a gift by Sergei Shoigu. Putin would teach Konni "five basic commands: down, heel, sit, go, and bark". She would become his favorite pet, serving as what Putin described as a consultant during his own "bad moods". In 2003, Putin's security detail stopped Konni from following him into a meeting with journalists, resulting in her expressing dissatisfaction by barking loudly and refusing several orders by Putin to come to him as the meeting progressed. Shortly before the 2003 Russian legislative election, Konni gave birth to eight puppies, all of which were given away. ==Foreign affairs==

File:Vladimir Putin 7 March 2003-2.jpg|alt=Konni sits under a table while Putin and Alexander Lukashenko have a talk.|Konni with Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, 2003 File:Vladimir Putin 24 May 2006-1.jpg|alt=Konni looks down while José Manuel Barroso, Vladimir Putin, Javier Solana, and Wolfgang Schuessel have a discussion.|Konni with José Manuel Barroso, Vladimir Putin, Javier Solana, and Wolfgang Schuessel, 2006 File:Vladimir Putin 21 January 2007-1.jpg|alt=Konni sniffs Merkel, seated, during her meeting with Putin, also seated.|Konni with Angela Merkel and Putin, 2007 U.S. president George W. Bush recalled his 2006 visit to Novo-Ogaryovo, where Konni charged across the lawn and Putin described her to him as "Bigger, tougher, stronger, faster, meaner—than Barney." While Bush's aides were inclined to dismiss Putin's remark as humorous, Bush himself retold the story to Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, who replied, "You're lucky he only showed you his dog." Ian Davis of The Guardian interpreted the remark as Putin's disdain for Barney. In 2007, German chancellor Angela Merkel had bilateral talks with Putin, accompanied by Konni, at his vacation home in Sochi. Throughout the talks, Konni stayed close to both Putin and Merkel, who reportedly had a fear of dogs. Putin told Merkel, "I hope the dog does not frighten you." However, she appeared to be unsettled by Konni. Later, Putin denied using his dog to intimidate Merkel, while Merkel said of Putin's behaviour: "I understand why he has to do this—to prove he's a man. ... He's afraid of his own weakness. Russia has nothing, no successful politics or economy. All they have is this", referring to Konni. In an interview two years earlier, Merkel had described the situation in a different way: "I didn't believe at the time that he wanted to intimidate me on purpose," According to the interview, she interpreted it to mean that Putin wanted to do her a favor because of her love for animals. ==Later life and legacy==

''-published comic strip In 2008, Konni was used to test a GLONASS-enabled pet collar, something she felt irritated wearing. ==See also==

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