No, JD Vance didn’t admit he got a ‘rent-a-dog’ to seem like ‘a dog fan’ | Fact check

The claim: JD Vance admitted he has a ‘rent-a-dog’ to make him seem like ‘a dog fan’

A Sept. 21 Threads post (direct link, archive link) claims JD Vance, former President Donald Trump’s running mate, made an admission about his family’s pet.

“JD Vance admits he has a ‘rent-a-dog’ and the dog is to ‘make me seem like I’m a dog fan,” reads the post. “Where is the (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) when you need them to step in and remove the poor dog?”

It was reposted more than 200 times in four days. Another version of the post on X, formerly Twitter, was reposted more than 4,000 times.

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Our rating: False

The post leaves out the portion of Vance’s remarks that makes it clear he was not giving a serious admission. A spokesperson said Vance and his family had Atlas, their German shepherd, months before Vance became Trump’s running mate.

Vance owned dog months before becoming Trump’s VP pick

The post is a reference to comments Vance made while being interviewed by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson. The 38-minute interview was uploaded to Carlson’s YouTube channel on Sept. 18.

“So, this is Atlas, which I found out on the internet a few weeks ago that he’s actually a rent-a-dog that was given to me by the campaign to make me seem like I’m a dog fan,” said Vance, with a hand on Atlas.

However, Vance’s full remarks show he wasn’t seriously admitting to renting his dog for the presidential campaign.

He continued, "It's actually hysterical to hear these lefties be like, ‘Oh, that dog, that's totally not his dog.’ Of course, we got him when he was an 8-week-old puppy, and we love dogs, and he's been our little guy. But he’s so well-trained and so normal. It's shocking to me that anybody would think that he's not our puppy, but here we are."

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Luke Schroeder, a Vance spokesperson, told USA TODAY that “the Vance family has had Atlas for the entirety of 2024, since he was a puppy.”

Schroeder provided USA TODAY with an image of Atlas taken during a visit to Vance’s office in Washington D.C. Information included with the image shows it was taken Jan. 17, 2024, at the U.S. Capitol building. Trump announced Vance would be his running mate in July, more than six months later.

In August, Atlas appeared on the campaign trail with Vance, who reposted a video shared by a reporter for The New York Times that showed him leading the dog up a set of plane stairs after a stop in Milwaukee.

Vance has a history of owning dogs. He ran a Facebook account for another German shepherd, Casper, and in April he shared a final tribute to Pippin, a black Lab mix, The Washington Post reported.

The social media user who shared the post could not be reached for comment.

PolitiFact also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

• Luke Schroeder, Sept. 24, Email exchange with USA TODAY

• Tucker Carlson (YouTube), Sept. 18, JD Vance: The Immigration Crisis, How Polls Are Used to Fool You, and the Left’s Plan to Stop Trump

• JD Vance, Aug. 16, X post

• The Washington Post, Aug. 11, Brain worms, dead bears, cat ladies: This election is a zoo!

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No, Vance didn’t admit he got ‘rent-a-dog’ for campaign | Fact check