EKB News

The Associated Press has gotten Frankfort riled up after filing a request to see how much public money has been spent on the First Family's dog. The Fletcher's dogs name is Abby, a West Highland Terrier, that has her own stationery, complete with stamped signature. Abby has cards and photos for every season; in bunny ears for Easter, in a pumpkin cap for Thanksgiving and surrounded by poinsettias for Christmas. According to the report by the AP, Kentucky's first family says the costs are minimal and the smiles and good will are priceless. David Fleenor, one of the Governor's attorneys, said all the Abby materials are produced by the first lady's staff, and there are no documents that would reflect the actual cost. The first lady says "There's virtually no cost," but spending public money on the governor's dog is a bad idea, according to Jim Waters, a policy analyst for the Bowling Green-based government watchdog group Bluegrass Institute. Waters said he is especially troubled that the governor's office can't quantify the cost of the promotions.