BOSTON — The late Sen. Edward Kennedy’s dog, Splash, who was the star of a children’s book about Capitol Hill, has died.

Kennedy’s widow, Vicki, announced his death in an e-mail Thursday. She calls the 13-year-old Portuguese water dog “a world-class fetcher of tennis balls and a meeter and greeter of presidents, senators, congressmen and even foreign dignitaries.”

Splash may be best known for the 2006 children’s book Kennedy wrote from Splash’s point of view, called “My Senator and Me: A Dog’s Eye View Of Washington, D.C.”

Splash also made news after President Barack Obama took office.

Kennedy gave the Obamas their dog, Bo, also a Portuguese water dog.

The president had promised his daughters during his campaign to get them a puppy if he won.

-- Robin Palmer
rpalmer@news-herald.com