JUNEAU, Alaska — No one wants to point a finger and no one will name names, but a certain large dog at the Alaska Capitol recently abused the privilege and spoiled things for the other four-legged visitors.
Security cameras captured the dog on its first — and last — visit to the Capitol, leaving a sizable deposit in front of the fourth-floor elevators.
In reaction, a legislative committee this month banned dogs from the building, making the political atmosphere in Juneau a little less warm and fuzzy and a little more dog-eat-dog.
"We'd had several incidents through the interim and that was probably the icing on the cake," said building manager Don Johnston, who viewed the videotapes to identify the culprit.
Citing the potential for damage to expensive new carpeting and for liability in the case of a dog bite, the committee made it a firing offense for legislative staff members to bring in a pet. Guide dogs are exempt. Lawmakers, who can be fired only by the folks back home, could be hit with a $25 fine.
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Though he claims his dog, Izzy, an occasional visitor to the Capitol, is "better behaved than many of the people in the building," Sen. Kim Elton voted for the ban.
"Having dogs in the building bothered some people, I know some people have allergies, and not everybody's dog is a good citizen," said the Juneau Democrat.
Elton announced the ouster with a large X over Izzy's photo on his weekly newsletter to constituents, inadvertently spreading alarm among readers that the miniature Australian Shepherd was dead.
Izzy is just the tip of a long tale of dogs — with names like Louie, Milo, Jack, Pint, Rainy and Tuggy — frequenting the Capitol in a city that loves its dogs.
Perched on the waters of the Inside Passage and surrounded by national forest, Juneau has an estimated 8,000 dogs, or about one for every four of its 30,000 residents. Issues like leash requirements on trails can pack the city assembly chambers with ardent dog-loving protesters.
During the Legislature's four-month regular session, some lawmakers and staffers come to Juneau — the nation's most inaccessible state capital — with their dogs in tow.
Local humane society director Chava Lee said her office has received numerous complaints from the Capitol. But because dogs are so popular around here, the calls all have a certain similarity.
"They begin like this: `Hi, I don't want to give my name, and I want you to know that I love dogs, but ... ,"' Lee said. "There's always an `I love dogs' and a `but' and then, you know."
The callers then go on to complain about dog hair, about dogs jumping on them, about "accidents."
Lee recommends the caller talk to the owner about the problem early on. "If somebody just said something to them, most people would take responsibility. But usually, by the time someone does, they are so furious it becomes confrontational," Lee said.
But in the Capitol, people tend to shy away from confrontations over dogs — particularly when the dog owner has clout.
Former Gov. Tony Knowles' black Labrador, Shadow, was a fixture on the third floor during his master's two terms in the executive branch. Shadow had his share of accidents, said Gregg Erickson, a longtime political observer and economist. But staffers were loath to complain to Knowles, a powerful Democrat who served from 1996 to 2004.
Former House Speaker Ramona Barnes, whose miniature schnauzer rivaled its owner's blond bouffant in size, also brought her dog to work. The tough-talking Republican, who served from 1978 to 1998, expected her aides to take Muffin for walks.
"You'd also see other legislators being conned into walking her dog when she was house speaker," said Erickson, who remembers a powerful Anchorage senator admitting that it was one way to get his bill out of committee.
Around the country, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer takes his dog everywhere in the state Capitol, while the New Mexico Capitol in Santa Fe has an unwritten rule against pets that was issued after a lawmaker let lhasa apso, Muffin, roam Senate offices and corridors.
In Alaska, the days of the dog wagging the system are over.
Lee said it is too bad a few bad dogs — and bad dog owners — can spoil it for the rest, but she understands why the ban was put it place. There are often political messes in the Capitol, Lee said, "but people would like to keep it off the floors."
