The only person that could ever bark orders at Vladimir Putin was his beloved dog Koni.
The Russian President as owned multiple dogs, a goat and even tigers - but his most treasured was his black Labrador Retriever, whose full name was Connie Leod Paulgrave.
Trained to be a search and rescue dog, Koni was born at a cynology centre a the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Noginsk in 1999.
Koni was given to Putin as a gift by Russian Minister of Defence Sergey Shoygu in December 2000 and quickly became an important part of the family.
The pooch was constantly at Putin's side and his opponents even suggested that if he had endorsed Koni as his successor then 40% of the electorate would have voted for the Labrador.
When explaining he has occasional bad moods, Putin once said: "In those situations I try to consult with my dog Konni, who gives me good advice."
Remarkably, Koni often attended official government meetings and greeted important world leaders during their visits to Russia - and could be used to intimidate rivals.
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Koni was known to go and literally sniff out Putin's counterparts, which left German Chancellor Angela Merkel feeling rather uncomfortable.
Merkel, who was at Putin's seaside home in Sochi in 2007 to discuss energy supplies, had a known fear of dogs after reportedly being attacked and bitted by one in 1995.
The Russian President called his black Labrador into the room and Merkel was said to have frozen while looking visibly frightened.
Merkel was reported to have shown "apparent discomfort" when Koni started sniffing her before sitting down at her feet, which can be seen in some of the photos from the moment.
One witness described how Putin smirked and "enjoyed the moment" as he watched his pet terrify his guest and said: "The dog does not bother you, does she? She's a friendly dog and I'm sure she will behave herself." [
Speaking in Russian, an uneasy Merkel replied: "'It doesn’t eat journalists, after all.'"
Putin's treatment of Merkel reportedly rankled the German press corps and after the encounter she gave a reason for why he had let his dog loose in the room.
She is reported to have told a group of reporters: "I understand why he has to do this — to prove he's a man.
"He's afraid of his own weakness. Russia has nothing, no successful politics or economy. All they have is this.'"
Years later in 2016, Putin apologised and told German newspaper Bild he had no intention of intimidating Merkel.
"I wanted to do something nice for her," he told the newspaper. "When I found out that she doesn't like dogs, of course I apologized."
Former US President George W. Bush has also given some insight into an awkward exchange he had with Putin over their pets.
When Bush was hosting Putin in America, he introduced the Russian leader to his Scottish Terrier Barney, who "never discussed politics and was always a faithful friend".
The following year, Bush and his wife Laura visited Putin's residence at Novo-Ogaryovo and obviously Koni was there to greet them.
"I introduced Vladimir Putin to Barney, our Scottish terrier, and [he] dissed him," Bush told an audience during a Q&A years later.
"A year later, Laura and I go visit Vladimir and his wife — this was before he decided to be with a gymnast 30 years younger — and he says, 'I want you to meet my dog.'
"I said, 'Yeah, sure.' And I'll never forget, out runs a huge Russian hound. And Putin says 'Bigger, stronger, and faster than Barney.'"
Bush would later tell the story to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harter, who responded: "At least he only showed you his dog."
Koni was said to have responded to simple commands given to her by Putin, including "down", "sit", "heel", "go" and "bark" and had the ability to shake hands.
Putin once revealed that Konni ate two to three times a day and loved porridge with meat, but he gave a stern warning to journalists who were giving her treats.
In July 2006, he said: "Sometimes, Konni leaves a room full of journalists with a very pleased expression on her face and biscuit crumbs around her mouth... Please do not feed my dog."
The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has stated he regarded Koni as a 'friend'.
But his attempts to call the pet pooch over to him were ignored and Koni responded by yawning at the Belarusian President on several occasions, before getting up and instead going over to the journalists who had gathered to cover the meeting.
Koni made a spectacular appearance at a State Kremlin Palace children's party in December 2004 while Putin was on stage giving a speech.
While he was making New Year's wishes to the kids, Koni escaped from where she was being held and jumped up on stage.
But she didn't always have her own way, as Koni was once locked up in a room next to where her master was speaking with then Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma.
The Labrador started whining, whimpering and yapping all through the summitry until an exasperated Putin ordered her to shut up.
Then in December 2003, Koni hit the headlines at the parliamentary election when the Putins made an unexpectedly early appearance at the polling station
"We have private reasons for that," the President vaguely explained, before his ex-wife Ludmilla explained Koni had given birth to eight puppies.
"We haven't had a wink of sleep all night long. Koni was whelping. She brought eight pups," she said.
Koni and her litter were given a purpose-made wooden cage to stay in and the puppies all found new homes - with one employed by rescue services.
One pup named Darina was given to a pensioner and another called Oscar to a six-year-old girl, while two more were given to the President of Austria, Thomas Klestil, as a symbol of Austrian-Russian friendship.
Sadly, it was reported that Koni had died in late 2014 at the age of 15.
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