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John Kerry brings 'diplomutt' to work instead of his kids

With his daughters grown and on their own, Secretary of State John Kerry brought the next best thing to Thursday's “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work" day: his yellow Labrador retriever.“This is Ben, everybody,” Kerry told the gathering of employees and their children at the State Department before the 1-year-old pup jumped up on the podium and then walked around it to pounce playfully on
Secretary Kerry Introduces Ben to Children at Take Your Child to Work Day

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, with his beloved dog Ben, speaks with c...
Ben, a little better behaved than when he first arrived on the scene.Today
Secretary Kerry Introduces Ben to Children at Take Your Child to Work Day

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry introduces his beloved dog Ben to childr...
Secretary of State John Kerry introduces his dog Ben to children on Thursday, \"Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work\" day, at the U.S. Department of State.Today

With his daughters grown and on their own, Secretary of State John Kerry brought the next best thing to Thursday's “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work" day: his yellow Labrador retriever.

“This is Ben, everybody,” Kerry told the gathering of employees and their children at the State Department before the 1-year-old pup jumped up on the podium and then walked around it to pounce playfully on the sign-language interpreter.

“There’s one rule in show business — don’t do anything with kids or animals," Kerry said. "I'm breaking those rules today big time."

Secretary Kerry Introduces Ben to Children at Take Your Child to Work Day

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, with his beloved dog Ben, speaks with c...
Ben, a little better behaved than when he first arrived on the scene.Today

Kerry told the group that he named his dog is named after Ben Franklin, America’s “first diplomat.” 

About his own pooch, Kerry noted that “he’s actually the diplo-mutt.”

It wasn't the first time Ben's been called that by his owner. Two days ago, Kerry wished Ben a happy first birthday on Twitter, calling attention to his dog's own Twitter account, with the appropriately named handle, @DiploMutt. Ben has yet to send out any tweets, but he has already more than 600 followers,

Happy+First+Birthday+to+my+dog+Ben.+@DiploMutt+apparently+an+Earth+Day+baby.+He+keeps+the+office+on+its+toes.+pic.twitter.com/vH9ojkxBkg

—+John+Kerry+(@JohnKerry)+April+22,+2014+

Follow TODAY.com writer Eun Kyung Kim on Google+ or on Twitter.