Babydog, Gov. Jim Justice’s popular English bulldog, appears in one of the new historic murals in the State Capitol Building. (Photo Courtesy/WV Legislative Photography)

CHARLESTON — When Gov. Jim Justice dedicated the first four of eight historic and allegorical murals in the State Capitol Building on West Virginia Day last week, going unnoticed and unmentioned was the inclusion of Babydog – the governor’s English bulldog – in one of the murals.

Randall Reid-Smith, the cabinet secretary of the state Department of Arts, Culture and History (WVDACH), said during that ceremony that the murals were the original intentions of the State Capitol Building’s architect, Cass Gilbert, who was unable to start the murals after the 1929 stock market crash and ensuing Great Depression dried up further funding for the artistic flourishes.

But Reid-Smith is now trying to explain why Babydog was included in one of the murals meant to fulfill Gilbert’s intentions and showcase the history, natural beauty, and culture of the Mountain State.

Babydog – one of several dogs owned by Justice who first came to public prominence in 2021 as the face of the state’s COVID-19 vaccination effort – has been a frequent and popular companion for the governor, often being seated next to him at public events and drawing in large crowds of children and adults alike. Justice once infamously lifted Babydog’s butt to the camera during a State of the State address, telling Bette Midler to kiss Babydog’s “heinie” after the famed actress made negative remarks about the state.

In April, the Governor’s Office issued a press release announcing the installation of eight new murals in the upper rotunda of the State Capitol Building. The first four were installed in the lunettes, the half-moon-shaped areas beneath the inner dome. The four lunette murals were completed in time for West Virginia’s 161st birthday last Thursday. The remaining four murals will be painted in the pendentive sections, the trapezoidal areas beside the lunettes.

The artist renderings of the four lunette murals in April included historical and allegorical scenes, though Babydog was not in the released renderings. The two historical murals depict historic Harper’s Ferry, the Potomac River, and John Brown’s Fort; and the Battle of Philippi during the Civil War.

The other murals included an allegorical depiction of the State Seal surrounded by President Abraham Lincoln, Civil War soldiers, and citizens, flanked by waterfalls on one side and industry on the other; and the other included scenes showing Seneca Rock surrounded by quilters, basket makers, glass blowing, a painter, and musicians.

It was in the Seneca Rocks mural where Babydog was added between April and June, when the final two of the first four murals were installed. Reid-Smith and WVDACH have not responded to requests for comment. But in an interview with host Hoppy Kercheval on WV MetroNews Talkline Tuesday morning. Reid-Smith said the decision to include Babydog was made by an internal committee which recommended other changes to the murals before final installation.

“We were looking at the first renderings of the murals,” Reid-Smith said. “For instance, like the Harpers Ferry armory, we wanted to have that a little more visible, so we did that. In the State Seal there were no African Americans, so we did that. When we got to Seneca Rocks, there was no wildlife and it was an outdoor scene. We were talking about what we could put there, so we wanted the elk because of the elk initiative and the cardinal. And then they said a dog and all of us said Babydog. That’s how it all came about.”

The ad-hoc committee included Reid-Smith; Charles Morris, director of the State Museum at the Culture Center; Mark Scott, cabinet secretary of the Department of Administration; Ann Urling, senior advisor to Justice; and Rebecca Blaine, director of intergovernmental affairs for the Governor’s Office.

According to Reid-Smith, the artist selection process for the murals was first approved on April 14, 2010, by the Capitol Building Commission, which is required by State Code to review, approve, or reject any changes to the State Capitol Building, other buildings on the State Capitol Complex, and changes to the grounds. Multiple companies participated in the pre-bid process at the time, including Connecticut-based John Canning and Co., but the project was scrapped due to lack of funding.

Three governors later and despite new members being appointed to the Capitol Building Commission since 2010, the project was revived in 2021, using the 2010 vote by the Capitol Building Commission to move forward. According to a source on the Capitol Building Commission who declined to be identified, at no time did the Capitol Building Commission vote between 2021 and 2024 to re-start the project and was not consulted on the look of the murals.

According to an October 2021 issue of The Buyers Network, a publication of the state Purchasing Division, the WVDACH was able to retain the services of John Canning and Co. for the creation and installation of the murals without putting the contract out to bid, citing Section 9 of the Purchasing Division Procedures Handbook. Section 9 includes a section on the “impossible-to-bid list,” which includes items such as artwork and historical items. Examples include services for restoring governors’ portraits or refurbishing chandeliers.

A Freedom of Information Act request was filed Monday with WVDACH for the final contract and all change orders between the department and John Canning and Co., as well as the final approved artist renderings of the mural. A spokesperson for John Canning and Co. declined to comment, referring all questions back to WVDACH. According to the State Auditor’s Office, John Canning and Co. has been paid $348,098 so far in 2024 for the mural project, which will be completed in November.

Following an event in Morgantown Monday afternoon, Justice told a reporter for WV MetroNews that he was unaware of Babydog’s inclusion in the mural prior to last week’s dedication ceremony and was not involved in the process.

“To think we just decided we were going to put Babydog in the thing, I mean that’s ridiculous,” Justice said. “But we should just be happy about the fact that we’ve got murals there that surely need to be there. And we should be happy about the fact that that little bulldog really has brought a lot of happiness and a lot of big smiles to all of us.”

Reid-Smith defended the inclusion of Babydog in the mural Tuesday due to the dog’s popularity.

“I think it’s great,” Reid-Smith said. “What I like about it is it brings so much attention to the murals. Everyone is going to come to see them. On Thursday, everybody loved them. Not one negative word. Everyone thinks it is great. I’ve heard from so many people. Babydog has brought a lot of happiness and a lot of joy to our state in troubling times. If you go anywhere Babydog is, everyone goes wild.”

According to the American Kennel Club, English bulldogs did not arrive in the United States until the 1880s. Reid-Smith said that fact makes it appropriate to include that breed of dog in the mural.

“This is supposed to be the late 19th and early 20th century,” Reid-Smith said. “We even did research to make sure that there were English bulldogs in America at that time, which there were. If it’s not Babydog, it can certainly be one of her ancestors.”

As for some complaining about the inclusion of Babydog in the mural and whether the inclusion is appropriate from a historical or political point of view, Reid-Smith encouraged the naysayers to celebrate the art for what it is.

“You either like it or you don’t,” Reid-Smith said.

sadams@newsandsentinel.com