It's raining cats and dogs in Washington, or at least that's how it seems.
Monday outside the Supreme Court , two representatives of the animal kingdom represented their kind. On the day when Rick Santorum made an appearance to announce his ability to successfully revolutionize the health care system, one dog decided to put her opinion in with the mix.
'I brought her because she has health insurance, and she thinks everyone should have health insurance,' said Katherine Prather, a medical student at Georgetown, who brought Ellie, a mini-dachshund-chihuahua mix, to Capitol Hill, according to NPR reporter Scott Hensley.
Another a cat on a leash -- Pud, short for pudding -- came by with its owner, according to Hensley. There was no political agenda behind the walk, said Hensley's source, Neda Semnani. There will be more on Pud and its owner in Senmani's Tuesday column in Roll Call.
These two animals are joining the ranks of Hank the Cat, a facetious bipartisan Virginia senate candidate who has extended his campaign to include T-shirts. The designs have channeled former campaigners, from images resembling the Obama campaign's 'Change' logo to the recent 'I like Hank' t-shirts (similar to the 'I like Ike' design for Dwight D. Eisenhauer's campaign), according to the Huffington Post. The Post also reports that proceeds from the t-shirt sales go to Animal Allies' spay and neuter program, the organization that incidentally saved Hank and his family from being euthanized.
The t-shirts are just another part of his campaign, which includes platform agendas (one of which is pet population control, according to the Huffington Post). He also has made campaign stops to market his cause: .