Campaign wounds: Dog bites candidate

A candidate for the Michigan legislature went beyond ­— way beyond — the call of duty to get the potential support of a voter. The guy’s dog bit her, three times, according to The Saginaw News. Now he says she can put a campaign sign on his property.

Saginaw County Commissioner Ann Doyle, campaigning for the state House of Representatives, was handing out literature door to door in a rural section of Frankenmuth Township. She didn’t see the dog until it was too late.

“About the time I did see the dog, it saw me,” Doyle told the newspaper. “It came running out and jumped, and that was the first bite.”

The dog bit Doyle on the arm. It continued attacking her as she tried to make her way down the driveway back to her car. Finally, the dog’s owner heard the commotion and called the animal off.

Doyle, bleeding and in shock, blacked out as she was being driven to the hospital. But just a couple of hours after being treated for her injuries — including a single stitch on her arm — she was back to her official duties, attending an awards banquet for a law enforcement support group.

Doyle has advice for other candidates. “You have all kinds of people out there doing door to door,” she said, “so my suggestion is carry dog treats, carry spray or something to try and protect yourself.”

Doyle said the incident had an upside, sort of. The dog’s distressed owner called her the night of the attack. She accepted his apology, and the offer to put up one of her campaign signs. She calls it a “sympathy vote.”