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Tuesday, February 1, 2005

Mayor Goes Around Putting Up His 'Dukes'

By Jim Ludwick
Journal Staff Writer
    There's a new top dog at City Hall: a 10-week-old puppy named Dukes.
    Mayor Martin Chávez adopted him from the city's East Side animal shelter a few weeks ago, and since then, Dukes has been attending high-level meetings, news conferences and other functions all over town.
    "I intend for him to be with me throughout the day. He'll be a well-known puppy," Chávez said.
    The mayor said he "had an inkling that I was going to get a dog for some time. When I saw Dukes, that was it."
    Dukes, named after Albuquerque's old baseball team, is "part Lab and part Australian shepherd, as far as we can tell," Chávez said. He weighs about 12 pounds and is growing rapidly.
    Chávez has promoted the welfare of pets during his current term, and he has pushed for pet adoptions as part of an effort to reduce euthanasia at animal shelters. He said Dukes will be a visible reminder to people that they can adopt pets at city pounds.
    Dukes will also be the mascot for a major animal-welfare initiative: ending euthanasia at city animal shelters within the next couple of years, Chávez said.
    "The goal is to be a no-kill city," Chávez said.