Mike Bloomberg Had A Weird Encounter With A Dog On The Campaign Trail
Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg had an odd encounter on the campaign trail this week.
He met a dog. But instead of petting the animal, Bloomberg grabbed the dog’s muzzle and gave it a shake in what seemed like an odd spin on a handshake.
The dog wagged its tail and seemed happy enough to meet the former mayor of New York.
Gothamist cheekily asked Bloomberg spokesperson Stu Loeser if the candidate knew how to pet a dog.
“You know that he’s playing with the dog, right?” Loeser said, adding a link to an ASPCA article about “mouthing” that doesn’t quite explain why Bloomberg was shaking the dog’s muzzle.
A number of websites also refer to “muzzle-grabbing” behavior between dogs, but are mixed about whether humans should or should not attempt it.
So was Twitter:
I regret to inform you that Mike Bloomberg attempted to shake a dog’s mouth. pic.twitter.com/hKsagJ4xAf
— Christopher J. Hale (@chrisjollyhale) January 28, 2020
I rise to defend Bloomberg's dog interaction. I have no idea what his dog experience level is but many dogs, especially dogs at least part retriever or other "mouthy" sporting/gun dogs, love that because it's what they do, and how they play with each other. 🐶
— Clara Jeffery (@ClaraJeffery) January 29, 2020
BOOP THE SNOOT, don’t shake it. https://t.co/6hni0g0mT5
— ➖Dustin Miller➖ (@spdustin) January 28, 2020
Anyone criticizing this is absolutely just envious of Bloomberg’s dog handling instincts. This is just a textbook example of correctly reading a new pup’s body language and delivering some aggressive but obviously welcome snout play. https://t.co/299hrdeInv
— Daniel Foster (@DanFosterType) January 28, 2020
Apparently this is not even the first time Mike Bloomberg has greeted a dog by shaking its snout. pic.twitter.com/oTxMY2M40Y
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) January 28, 2020
Is ... is this the first dog Mike Bloomberg has ever met? https://t.co/CogHuMzoMH
— Shaker Samman (@ShakerSamman) January 28, 2020
Awkward as this is, this improved Bloomberg’s likability rating with me. 🤣 https://t.co/4Jj6vA2kw0
— Terence (@TOPolk) January 28, 2020
“So, what line of business are you in?” - Michael Bloomberg meeting a dog
— Jason O. Gilbert (@gilbertjasono) January 28, 2020
Bloomberg is a monster but it sounds to me like some of you don't know how to say hi to a mouthy herding dog https://t.co/kcyvMxSmSX
— Gwen Snyder is uncivil (@gwensnyderPHL) January 28, 2020
Has Mike Bloomberg ever been around a dog before? https://t.co/vChIiSAr4D
— Jeff Schogol (@JeffSchogol) January 28, 2020
There's a lot of things we can slam Bloomberg on, but this ain't one of them. I do this to my dog all the time and he knows that means I'm being playful. https://t.co/rv0wnAfFTS
— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) January 28, 2020
Michael Bloomberg... just greeted a dog... by giving it a handshake... on its face. https://t.co/CsctwXX5ms
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) January 28, 2020
at first I thought Bloomberg’s way of shaking a dogs face was not that weird but then I watched it seven more times and actually it’s the weirdest thing anyone has ever done
— Julia Carrie Wong (@juliacarriew) January 29, 2020
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
