Republi-Tin-Tins, and proud of it.

Dogs and politics, they go together.

The late first dog Franz had a loyal following and he made the headlines a few times, but sadly his accidental death was also news. Then came Trooper, Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire’s new puppy.

There’s more to the dog stories around the Capitol Campus than just the governor, though. Legislative staff recently hosted a dog show which was judged successful after it raised cash for charity and resulted in zero deaths.

And now Senate Republican Communications Director Rebecca Japhet has put together a must-have GOP collector’s item, “Dogs of the Republican Caucus” 2007 wall calendar, subtitled, “We’re dog people, too!”

It features a lively collection of Republican pooches including Bassett hound Max, German Shepard Stormer, and a Pekingese named Peanut.

Most notable, however, may be the fairly famous Dubya. The August dog of the month, Dubya was named after President George W. Bush, who talked fellow Republican Dino Rossi both into getting his four kids a dog and running for governor in 2004.

As we all know, Rossi’s run came really, really, really close to putting Dubya in Trooper’s place.