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Former President George H. W. Bush welcomes a new member of the family: a yellow Labrador retriever who will be his first service dog.
The 94-year-old man and his new companion named "Sully" got acquainted on Monday with the Bush family on the Maine coast.
Both of them hit.
A photo sent on Twitter shows Sully basking at the feet of Bush and former President Bill Clinton, who was visiting Monday.
Sully can open doors, pick up items and ask for help, but "more than anything else, the dog will be a wonderful companion," said an aide, Evan Sisley.
The 41st president of the nation uses a wheelchair and an electric scooter for mobility since the development of a form of Parkinson's disease. Bush is recovering from a recent hospitalization and finds himself without his 73-year-old wife, Barbara Bush, who passed away in April.
Sully was trained by VetDogs of America, a nonprofit organization that provides service dogs.
"It's a very nice dog," said Sisley, who hopes that Bush's use of a service dog will draw attention to the organization and the service dogs. Sully has her own Instagram account that will help raise awareness, said Sisley.
Bush is a dog lover who has had dogs since his childhood and dogs are always welcome in the family home. Two of his children, Neil Bush and Dorothy Bush Koch, have five dogs together, and other family members bring pets during their visit, Sisley said.
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