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Meet the new presidential pooch

By Catherine Monson '12
August 25, 2010

President David R. Anderson '74 offers Macey a treat while his wife, Priscilla Paton (left), and daughter, Elizabeth, look on.

Arriving just weeks ahead of the Class of 2014, one of the newest members of the St. Olaf community is already setting a good example for incoming students. Always eager to meet new friends, she enjoys taking long walks near campus and knows to follow the rules of President David R. Anderson ’74.

But Macey isn’t a first-year student — she’s a yellow Labrador retriever and the newest addition to the Anderson household. She joined the presidential family last week after they adopted her from the Prairie’s Edge Humane Society in Faribault, where Priscilla Paton, Anderson’s wife, is a board member and Elizabeth, his daughter, volunteers.

Little is known about where Macey, a stray, came from, but workers at the humane society estimate that she’s five or six years old. What is clear is that Macey has a friendly, laid-back personality that is well-suited for the intensity of campus life. “She’s our ‘mellow yellow,’” says Paton, a lifelong dog-lover. “She has the same easygoing temperament as our previous dog, Troy.”

Troy, a black Lab and fellow rescue-shelter dog who lived to “a ripe, old age,” moved with the Andersons to Northfield in 2006 and passed away last year after 15 years with the family. Known for his early morning walks across campus with Anderson, Troy always impressed company at the house with his friendly temperament and good manners. Anderson plans to continue his morning walks with Macey, and the family is confident she’ll entertain guests just as well as her predecessor.

“Troy was a black Lab, and Macey is a yellow Lab,” notes Paton, “so I guess we’re keeping with the St. Olaf colors.”

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.