Maryland’s new governor is making good on his promise to his children: They’re getting a puppy.
Gov. Wes Moore and his family are taking home a 5-month old rescue puppy “Tucker” from the Maryland SPCA on Friday night.
The first family got to know Tucker Thursday evening when an SPCA staff member took the pup to meet with them for the first time.
“And we’re happy to report that they fell in love with each other,” James Peirce, executive director of the Maryland SPCA, told WTOP. “It’s usually pretty easy to tell … wiggly butts, happy licks. This was one of those cases where it was very easy to tell that they fell in love with each other pretty quickly.”
Tucker (whose middle name is “Balty,” a nod to the SPCA headquarters’ city and Moore’s own Baltimore roots) is a Shih Tzu-poodle mix. He’s been neutered and undergone a full medical and behavior exam.
As with most shelter animals, the SPCA doesn’t have much of a back story. But Peirce said, “He’s a sweet, happy, wiggly, affectionate boy.”
Moore told WTOP in December that he had promised his children, Mia and James, after the 2022 gubernatorial election — win, lose or draw — that they would get a puppy.
But part of the deal is that they will have to do most of the care for the pup, he said.
The Maryland SPCA adopts out about 3,000 animals a year, with about one-third of them being dogs.
The group also tries to help people who are struggling financially keep their pets without having to surrender them, offering pet food pantries and vaccine clinics.
“We’re really working with the community to help identify the sources of why people may need to surrender and what can we do to intervene so that they don’t have to surrender because … we love the human-animal bond,” Peirce said.
