Gov. Brown's Dog Sutter Falls Critically Ill, Capitol Rallying Around Him

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – He's brought cool to the State Capitol, has been an advocate for education – and has even promoted fitness by sharing his downward facing dog to thousands of Twitter followers.

But now, California's therapy-dog-in-chief needs a boost in health and spirits himself.

"While in surgery, the doctors discovered numerous masses - most likely cancer - in his intestines, his lymph nodes, and his liver," said the governor's spokesperson Deborah Hoffman.

Veterinarians weren't able to remove all of those masses and are waiting for results of a biopsy to determine if they are, in fact, cancerous.

"As you can imagine, this is a very hard time for the Governor and the First Lady," Hoffman said.

Hard, because Sutter has become a fixture around the Capitol – so much so that some have argued the 13-year-old corgi is responsible for softening the governor's image.

"He's there in our office on a regular basis lifting our spirits, combing through our trash cans, helping us with food cleanup," Hoffman said.

Sutter's mom, and California's first lady, posted pictures of Sutter stitches with the message " Keep fighting Sutter! We want you home. #suttercomehome"

The second shows Sutter with sister Colusa and the message: "Colusa misses you!!"

"Colusa was here in the office this afternoon and was not her normal peppy, vivacious self and seems a little down. So, I think she senses that something is wrong," Hoffman said.

With hundreds of messages rolling in on social media and email, the hope is that the furry statesman gets well soon.

"We're all pulling for him. He's a fighter and we're hoping he'll pull through this," Hoffman said.

It's still unclear when Sutter will be able to come home.

In:
• Jerry Brown