Jennie the guide dog enjoys being in the House of Commons chamber because she knows she can get a “good lie down”, according to her MP.
The Liberal Democrats’ furriest frontbencher, aged four, assists Steve Darling when he is in the Palace of Westminster and at home in Devon.
The MP for Torbay has a genetic eye condition called Stargardt disease, so his “world is a bit like looking through frosted glass”.
He told the PA news agency: “Whenever we go through Central Lobby, (Jennie) tries to pull me towards the chamber.
“I think that’s because she knows there’s the chance of a good lie down if you go in the chamber for a period of time.”
Jennie is one of several four-legged helpers in Westminster and Whitehall.
Mr Darling said she has not met the Speaker’s cats Clem and “head mouser” Attlee, but Sir Lindsay Hoyle has pampered the three-quarter golden retriever, one-quarter Labrador after the MP’s swearing-in.
In the House of Lords, guide dog Barley assists former Labour home secretary Lord Blunkett, and Nancy supports the work of Lord Holmes of Richmond on the Conservative benches.
Larry the Cat, who lives at Number 10 Downing Street, has an unofficial X, formerly Twitter, fan page.
“Jennie has vowed to catch up with Larry the Cat’s 800,000 followers,” Mr Darling said, referring to @rthonjennie – which he does not run and has so far reached more than 17,000 followers.
“I would say that Jennie is enjoying being here because she probably gets more time at the park, because you can probably, wherever you’re staying (in London), plan to go through a park on the way here.”
In Torbay, Jennie learnt to swim with a dog-friendly buoyancy aid, but realised she could paddle without it after her third dip, Mr Darling said.
“I really enjoy the sea. I think being able to immerse yourself in that – whether it’s sea-kayaking or swimming – I really enjoy being able to get in,” he said, and added that in the past he had sea-kayaked around the Shetland Islands and canoed on the Rivers Spey and Tay in Scotland.
But trying to sort out “sewage in the seas” is on voters’ agenda in Torbay, he said, with campaign group Surfers Against Sewage warning of several outflows at beaches in his constituency – including on Paignton Sands and 200m to the east of Babbacombe.
“The other one that’s really close to my heart – because I’m adopted myself – is young people and children, and looked-after children,” Mr Darling said, as he pledged to advocate for children’s services which are not “a child rescuing service – it’s making sure that children’s services are there to actually help families who are in need”.
He said: “I’m very fortunate to have been adopted by Eric and Penny, and I know my adoption experience was extremely positive.
“Then I found my birth mother. I was adopted in Birmingham and my adoptive parents moved down to Torquay, Devon, and when I found my birth mother, she was actually living in Kingsteignton, which is about six miles away from Torquay.
“And then I discovered my half-sister actually used to live in Torquay and used to chef in a place where I would go.
“My other half-sister, she enjoys camping and sea-kayaking and we’ve been out doing that together.”
On his visual impairment, Mr Darling said: “Whilst I don’t want my disability to define me, if I can drive positive change as part of my world on the way… it’s really nice that I’m able to do that from being here.”
