The silliest part of the dog dispute between Presidents Lazarus Chakwera Versus President Peter Mutharika
Are there no other Dutch Shepherds or Malinois dogs to adopt and train in Malawi?
German Shepherds are stunning. But if you don’t know the German Shepherd, it can be a cold piece of work. Before my second dog was put to sleep, I could grab her around the neck and snuggle her face to my face. This image of me doing just that resulted in an award and a gift card with a well-known health insurance company. It also made me a nice chunk of change for a marketing campaign with a popular security company.
But training classes and a lot of repetition were needed to get this German Shepherd puppy to be a well-mannered adult dog — and that still didn’t stop her from chewing up a phone number that belonged to a guy she clearly didn’t want me to date. And nothing I could do would stop her from literally barking back at a Pit Bull next door.
Lately, German Shepherds have been on my mind for a couple reasons, including former President Joe Biden’s dogs Major and Commander. While former Malawi president Lazarus Chakwera and the current progressive-liberal President Peter Mutharika are going at it over ownership of four dogs (valued at $2,300) who look similar to German Shepherds, I never heard a word about anybody trying to claim ownership of Commander — who bit Secret Service agents at least 24 times — or the rescue dog Major — who bit someone several days after returning from training following a similar incident earlier that same month.
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I had to hold back laughter when one of the guest hosts of “Roy’s Job Fair” started rapping Tupac lyrics about Major: “Out on bail, fresh out of jail” and still wanting that smoke for anybody bothering Biden. Who needs Secret Service when you have Major, Commander or (now-deceased) Champ?
And while I may be chuckling about presidential dogs, Chakwera and Mutharika don’t find anything funny about their dog dispute.
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Dog Dispute: Presidents Lazarus Chakwera Versus President Peter Mutharika
Chakwera previously held the East African country’s presidential post between 2014 and 2020. And while the former pastor-turned-president Chakwera was in office, he claimed ownership of one Dutch Shepherd and three Malinois. Although new president Mutharika believes that his term includes the same dogs as part of his state security team, Chakwera had something else in mind since October of last year, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The Dutch Shepherd and Malinois dogs were removed from the Lilongwe Palace over the course of three days after the election and the day before Mutharika’s inauguration on October 5.
In November, police arrested Chakwera’s State House deputy chief of staff Godfrey Jalale for using a government vehicle to move the dogs to Chakwera’s home. And to make matters more confusing, a semantics debate and dog breed misclassification led to the police being unable to take the dogs back to the Palace.
Lilongwe Magistrate Court barred police from executing a warrant for the former president’s residence because the dogs were described as “four German Shepherds.” When they were told no German Shepherds were on the property, that wasn’t a lie. Were one Dutch Shepherd and three Malinois dogs on the property? Yes. German Shepherds? No.
(Dutch Shepherds and Malinois tend to be leaner and are far less likely to have hip/elbow dysplasia than German Shepherds, but these two breeds have a far more destructive streak if they’re under-stimulated physically and mentally. German Shepherds are a little more forgiving with training and being comfortable with resting.)
Police tried a second time with a new warrant and the correct breed listing, requiring visual confirmation of the dogs and inspecting Chakwera’s residence at night.
Throughout all this back and forth, I can’t help thinking of my own three dogs — two of which have been properly trained. I would be furious if I had to give up any of my three dogs (including the wild German Shepherd/Lab mix who knocked over Christmas trees and stole pork chops for fun). There’s 100% chance that court would be the only way I’d give up.
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Even then, I’m not so sure. I also don’t think any of the three would respond well to being removed, specifically my last dog who yelps and glares in the window every single time I leave. If Chakwera’s security dog team are velcro dogs and as protective of one person as American Kennel Club describes for these two dog breeds, is this dog court fight even worth it?