Former NIH Director Befriends Kennedy's Dog

By Nikki Schwab, Washington Whispers

Portuguese water dogs, like Bo Obama, are apparently experts on personality. Just ask Elias Zerhouni, former director of the National Institutes of Health. Zerhouni, a George W. Bush appointee, had to meet with Ted Kennedy, who was chair of the confirmation committee in the Senate, to get the gig. "I was told that the meeting with Kennedy was the key meeting—'If he likes you, you're in, if he doesn't like you, it's all over,' " Zerhouni recalled this week at the Lasker Foundation and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health awards ceremony. "Throughout the meeting, his Portuguese water dog stayed by my side," says Zerhouni. "Ted ended up by saying, 'I'm going to support you, because my dog likes you.' "

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