Politics is a ruff world – just ask Peter Mandelson’s ‘ambassa-dog
Mandelson may have left Washington, but his dog Jock left paw prints on diplomacy. Sometimes soft power comes on four legs.
As Donald Trump begins his second state visit to the UK, the absence of London’s former ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, continues to make headlines. It remains to be seen whether he will be widely missed on Capitol Hill. He has always been a controversial figure and while Trump took a shine to British politics’ “Prince of Darkness”, there were many others with misgivings about the scandal-prone operator’s suitability in these highly charged times.
But one member of his team had been an unmitigated success in his posting, throwing himself into his new role with an enthusiasm that put seasoned diplomats to shame: Jock, Mandelson’s 10-year-old, brown-and-white border collie. Sniffing heels at official events, the “ambassa-dog” was expert at working the crowd, finding the right people to target with puppy-dog eyes and a tennis ball dropped for a toss. Racing around the grounds of the Edwin Lutyens-designed ambassador’s residence, Jock would charm distinguished guests, who were all too ready to throw him a bone.
As Mandelson cultivated his relationship with key figures in Trump’s orbit, Jock put in the time to get to know Atlas, the two-year-old German shepherd owned by the US vice-president, JD Vance. The pair often had free rein to patrol the embassy grounds as their owners chewed over matters of foreign policy. Jock had the vital diplomatic skill of being able to connect with dogs from across the spectrum of breed and size, whether that be a lolloping German shepherd or a diplomatic sausage dog.
Mandelson’s political biography is dotted with canine anecdotes. Gerry Adams convinced him to buy his first dog shortly after he was appointed Northern Ireland secretary in 1999. During his time as Sinn Féin’s leader, Adams even offered to buy him one, Mandelson recounted in his memoir – but that was vetoed by his security team “because they feared a listening device would be embedded into one of the dog’s paws”. Mandelson ended up acquiring Bobby, a golden retriever, who became a minor celebrity in Northern Ireland. Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair’s then-chief of staff and now Keir Starmer’s chief foreign-policy adviser, recalled Mandelson bringing Bobby and his other dog Jack on the private jet between London and Belfast, where the truculent hounds kept trying to eat his sandwiches.
The usual canine appetites notwithstanding, at Monocle we have long recognised the unique talents of a canine to smooth the edges of a difficult meeting and improve the atmosphere at any gathering. Diplo-dogs can give opposing sides a point of commonality and help to break the ice, as well as offering stress relief in high-pressure environments.
There can, of course, be bad examples. Joe Biden’s German shepherds, Major and Commander, were exiled from the White House after biting staff. For Mandelson, however, dogs have helped to soften the image of a man whom the media has depicted as a cunning and ruthless spin doctor. But even Jock could not save his master from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal – and Mandelson was rightly sacked last week for his links to the convicted sex offender.
But Jock was loyal to the end. The Financial Times reported that it was Jock who first alerted his owner to his impending firing, barking at 05.40 as staff approached his bedroom door with the bad news. Politics is a dog-eat-dog world.
Charlotte McDonald-Gibson is a Monocle contributor based in Washington. Further reading? When it comes to airport security, canines are still indispensable. Here, Monocle visits the TSA dog training centre.
