Photo: Eric Estrada, AFP / Getty Images
After a series of increasingly violent attacks on the former president, the pooch has been banished to a home in the French countryside, the Guardian reports.
The troubled lap dog first garnered headlines in January, when Sumo bit 76-year-old Chirac, causing him to seek outpatient treatment at a Paris hospital, the Daily Mail reported at the time. The dog was being treated for depression, but according to BBC News, the attacks had worsened in recent days. In the latest scuffle, Sumo was reportedly lying quietly on the floor when President Chirac walked into the room and the dog flew into a rage. He bit the statesman on the stomach, drawing blood, BBC News reports.
Chirac's wife, Bernadette, told the press that the little white dog had been "down in the dumps" since leaving the Elysée, where he once played in the presidential gardens with his best canine pal, a golden retriever named Scott, reports the Guardian.
Dogs can certainly suffer depression from a change in surroundings, Dr. Daniel Q. Estep, a certified animal behaviorist with Animal Behavior Associates in Littleton, CO, tells Paw Nation. But depressed dogs are much more likely to be lethargic or anxious rather than aggressive, he says. And, he added, attacks usually follow a specific trigger -- a frightened dog might snap if you reach down to grab his collar, for instance.
The Doggie Diaries: At the Dog Park, Part 1 -- The Brawl
