Former NC Gov. McCrory growls that his successor dissed his dog – and his cause

Former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory Friday criticized his Democratic successor Friday — over a dog.

More specifically, McCrory blamed Gov. Roy Cooper for removing a metal sculpture of McCrory's dog, Moe, from the grounds of the governor's Western Residence in Asheville.

'We just got word last night that the Cooper administration removed it and it's in an attic somewhere," McCrory said on his Friday morning show on Charlotte's WBT radio. "And that was not just to honor our dog. It was to honor the work of trying to rescue dogs from puppy mills in North Carolina."

Cooper adviser Morgan Jackson declined to comment.

McCrory said the sculpture was a gift from local animal rescue advocates.

In the first legislative session after he was elected in 2012, his wife, Ann, championed what was known as the puppy-mill bill. It would have required breeders to provide daily exercise, fresh food and water, and veterinary care for their dogs. The bill failed to pass the Republican controlled Senate.

McCrory said on air that he wishes he would have been more successful fighting for the measure.

"I haven’t asked for much from the governor," he told listeners. "But man, don’t disrespect my dog and the work he did to save other dogs.. . . I’m kind of making a mockery of it but it does upset me.

"Put the statue back up.... If you don’t want it, give it to the Humane Society and let them display it."

He referred to Moe as "the former first dog of North Carolina, whom many of you voted out of office."

McCrory narrowly lost to Cooper in 2016.

This story was originally published June 22, 2018 at 11:28 AM with the headline "Former NC Gov. McCrory growls that his successor dissed his dog – and his cause."