Many politicians, like anybody else, have pets. Some, like Barack Obama’s pups Sunny and the late Bo, and Bill Clinton’s late cat Socks and dog Buddy, became famous in their own right and even have their own Wikipedia articles.
One of the latest pets to hit the headlines in politics is Resistência. The pooch’s dog dad is Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the new Brazilian president, and she accompanied him during his inauguration on Sunday (Jan. 1). Lula and his wife, Rosângela Lula da Silva, more commonly known as Janja, led her up the Planalto ramp.
Finding Her Forever Home With Lula
Resistência is a mixed breed, and used to live on the streets of Curitiba. She first met her dog dad when he was incarcerated at the Federal Police superintendence in the city. Janja, then his girlfriend, met the pup when she’d visit Lula’s supporters outside, and began to think about adopting her.
In 2018, the dog became ill and had to stay in hospital for a week. It was then that Janja made the decision to adopt her.
Brazil’s Stray Dogs
There are a lot of stray dogs in Brazil, and not many will have endings as happy as Resistência’s.
In 2020, World Animal Protection estimated that across the country there were over 50 million dogs and 20 million cats, with about 30 million of these being strays, per Newsweek. And these canines will have mixed fates. In 2008, Sao Paulo enacted a law banning the killing of stray dogs and cats as a means to control the population. But in 2014, Brazilian authorities reportedly removed and killed a number of stray dogs in preparation for the World Cup.
In 2020, previous president Jair Bolsonaro held his own dog while signing a law that would increase punishments for the abuse of domestic animals, and it looks as if his successor is certainly a dog lover too. In short, perhaps things will be looking up for pups in the large South American nation.
