It is an ordinary, and sometimes annoying thing for dogs to interrupt their owners during work engagements. However, a 7-month-old puppy stole the hearts of netizens around the world when he interrupted his owner, President Michael D Higgins, while he was addressing the press on live TV.
On Sunday, May 2nd, 2021, Irish President Michael D Higgins was giving an address to Irish broadcaster RTE, where he was delivering his condolences following the death of Tom Hickey, one of the best Irish actors who passed on Saturday, the day before.
A Lot Happening Off Camera
Everything seemed to be going well during the live address, except for one small thing. At one point during the address, the face of one of the President’s dogs appeared in the video for a split second. Prior to the dog’s the split second appearance, viewers were wondering what the president’s right hand was doing, and why his jacket kept popping open, since the live broadcast only showed the president from the waist up.
Turns out there was a lot going on behind the scenes during the live broadcast. As the President spoke to the press, one of his Bernese Mountain Dogs came up to him and started demanding his attention, oblivious of the fact that the President was handling serious matters.
The President handled the distraction well, and save for the blink-and-miss-it-appearance, most people would not have noticed anything. However, a behind-the-scenes video shared later on social media shows the president offering his hand for the dog to nibble on, thus keeping the dog occupied while still delivering his speech.
It is this video that has left netizens wowed and falling in love with the 7-month-old dog, who is named Misneach. Viewers are swooning over the puppy’s love for his owner and amazed at the President’s ability to maintain his composure and continuing to give his speech, while at the same time giving his dog the attention he wanted.
Bernese Mountain Dogs Loved By Many
There was a lot going on in our @rtenews interview yesterday #rtenewsbehindthescenes @PresidentIRL @PaulDeighano pic.twitter.com/2zaJo3fRiY
— Sinéad Crowley (@SineadCrowley) May 3, 2021
After being shared on Twitter by RTE journalist Sinead Crowley, the video has attracted over 1.7 million views and over 18,000 likes. The video also garnered hundreds of comments, most of them pouring love at both Misneach and President Higgins. The video has since been shared on other social media platforms, where it has gotten equally enthusiastic engagements.
President Higgins adopted the 7-month old Bernese Mountain Dog in March this year, following the passing of his other Bernese Mountain Dog named Sioda in September 2020. President Higgins has been a huge fan of Bernese Mountain Dogs for over 19 years, and has yet another Bernese named Brod. Brod and Misneach currently live with the President at Áras an Uachtaráin.
This is not the first time one of President Higgins’ dogs has stolen the limelight. In March 2020, Brod, the President’s other pet dog, won the hearts of netizens when he started running around the room at the International Women’s Day event held in Dublin, before finally lying belly-up at the President’s feet waiting for a belly rub.
