NEW BERN — February has been a tough month for political pooches.
Zipper, a Tibetan terrier belonging to former Gov. Bev Eaves Perdue and her husband, Bob Eaves, died this week in New Bern after a life as one of North Carolina’s two “first dogs.”
Eaves said Zipper died after suffering a stroke. Her death comes just a few days after Barney, a Scottish terrier belonging to former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush, also headed for the big doghouse in the sky.
Like Barney, Zipper had been battling lymphoma at the time of her death, Eaves said.
“When we took her to the Veterinary School at N.C. State, they also diagnosed her with lymphoma,” he said. “They gave her only two months to live.”
Instead, Zipper held on for 3 1/2 months, and even enjoyed one final visit to the Trent River on Tuesday evening.
“She raced out to the river like she had all the energy in the world,” Eaves said. But on Wednesday, he said, “she hardly moved, and the vet came and said she wouldn’t make it through the night and he helped her go.”
In addition to her owners, Zipper is survived by her mother, Dosie. The two dogs had lived in the Executive Mansion in Raleigh with the governor and Eaves during Perdue’s four-year term.
Zipper and Dosie earned some notoriety while there. Photos of them were snapped at a number of popular N.C. venues, and the pictures found their way to assorted websites, including the N.C. Cultural Resources site.
Perdue, who stayed in Raleigh at Christmas with the ailing Zipper because she thought the dog might go anytime, now will go on to Harvard University later this month to teach public policy for the spring semester.