Putin's puppy named Buffy

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has named his new dog Buffy, but there was no sign in a walkabout for the cameras that the Bulgarian shepherd had any vampire-slaying tricks.

In fact, Putin said the dog "can't do a thing" in comments carried by Russian news agencies.

But Buffy, a cute caramel-and-white-patched puppy, contradicted Putin, obediently sitting on his command.
The restless canine then weaved among the reporters, pushing his nose right down a camera lens.

A five-year-old boy won a competition to find a name for the dog, which Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov gave to Putin in Sofia last month.

"It's soft, kind and sounds nice," Putin told the boy, Dima.

Buffy will now have to compete with Koni, a black labrador, for Putin's affection.