A Dog in the White House
So this is totally not what I normally write but it had to be done.
Ao3
Josh rushes into the Oval Office lobby.
“You’re late,” Debbie states sternly.
“I know,” Josh says. He bends over and places his hands on his knees, panting.
“I’ll let him know you’re here.” She crosses the room and opens the door to the Oval Office. “Josh has arrived,” she tells the President.
“Josh! You’re here!” Bartlet says, inviting Josh into the office. “Where were you?”
“There was this thing with Donna. She was about to go walk her dog when I couldn’t find a memo she put on my desk. Turns out I was holding it the entire time.”
“Donna got a dog?” Bartlet asks, circling behind his desk.
“About a month ago.”
Bartlet nods his head. “What breed?”
“German Shepherd — I think.”
“Okay. Is it house trained?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well then call her and ask.”
“But, sir, don’t we have other things to discus-“
“Josh, this is valuable information.”
Josh sighs. He reaches into his pocket, pulls out his phone, and dials Donna’s number.
She picks up. “Did you lose another memo?”
“No,” Josh replies, “the president wants to know if George is house trained.”
“You’re not saying it right, Josh. You need to say his full name.”
Even though Donna won’t be able to see it, Josh rolls his eyes. “Fine. The president wants to know if George Washingbone is house trained.”
“Yes, he is, Josh. He’s a rescue pup from the shelter.”
Josh looks up at the president. “She says that he is house trained.”
“Can I talk to her?” Bartlet asks, extending his arm to take Josh’s phone. “Donna?” He says with the phone agianst his ear.
“Mr. President?” Donna responds, mildly startled. “If you don’t mind me asking, Sir, why did you want to know if George Washingbone was house trained?”
“It is valuable information. You know, the West Wing could be helped by the presence of a dog. That would be fun, I think. It would also drive Toby nuts, but that’s just an added bonus. There should be more animals in this White House. I could have brought some horses from the farm. Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, and Grant all had horses in the White House.”
“That’s very interesting, Mr. President. I’m almost home. I’ll bring George Washingbone right over.” Donna ends the call.
Josh takes his phone back from the president. “So what did you want to talk to me about?”
“Raising the minimum wage.”