President Houston Davis and his family have welcomed a new member to the family.
Winston Danger Davis is a 2-month-old basset hound who is already enjoying his new home with the Davises.
First Lady Jenny Davis said the dog’s middle name, “Danger,” was inspired by the line “Danger is my middle name” from the “Austin Powers” movie franchise.
“It’s ironic because you look at him and there’s literally nothing dangerous about him at all,” Davis said. “He’s about the most nonthreatening thing you’ve ever seen.”
On Feb. 10, the Davises brought Winston home from Arkoma Basset Hound dog breeders in Siloam Springs, to the dismay of the Davises’ cat, Zu Zu, who has not ventured downstairs since Winston arrived. Davis said the family’s 6-year-old basset hound, Elvis, loves Winston.
She said Winston sees Elvis as a “substitute mom” and does whatever Elvis does.
“[Winston] has been really easy, mainly because of Elvis,” Davis said. “Elvis is not jealous, and as long as he gets his pets, he’s OK.”
Jenny said her son, Josh, wanted another dog when they moved into the President’s Home. She said Josh wanted a Labrador, but that it wasn’t practical because Labradors are so big and they would be hosting events with older people at their home.
Davis said she’s always wanted to have basset hounds as pets because when she was younger, her parents had to give her basset hound away.
Davis said the new puppy encourages her daughters, Polly and Whitney, to visit home from college. When her daughters are away at college, she sends them pictures of Winston every day.
When her oldest daughter, Polly, was home, she started “clicker training” the dogs — a training method that teaches an animal to associate a clicking sound with a treat.
Davis said Winston is playful — his favorite toy is his pink squeaky pig — and he likes chewing on toes, couches and Elvis’ tail.
Davis said Winston loves to annoy Elvis.
“We went for a walk around the backyard, and Winston just bounced around Elvis the whole time … and Elvis ignored him,”Davis said.
Although Winston likes to annoy Elvis, Davis said he also likes to snuggle with Elvis by getting as close to him as possible during naptime.
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Photos by Lauren Swaim.
