Uno the beagle, better known nowadays as “America’s Dog,” interrupted his celebrity tour for a quick “therapy” stop in Peoria, Ill., this week, cheering up a 91-year-old woman who has been feeling down.

(In a way, I submit, Aibo never could.)

Westminster’s best-in-show stopped at the home of Rosemary Kramm – a visit arranged by Kramm’s home health nurse, Leah Santini, who breeds beagles, knows one of Uno’s co-owners, and wanted to perk up her depressed client.

"Oh! Look at that!" Kramm, was quoted as saying in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article. “Oh, I can't believe it! I can die now. I can leave this planet."

The visit, of course, was intended to postpone that eventuality. Nurse Santini had seen the way Kramm had brightened up while watching Uno on television during the dog show. She contacted Uno co-owner Kathy Weichert, who agreed to make the three hour trip with Uno.

Since Uno’s win, the beagle has been booked solid with TV appearances and other engagements, including an upcoming trip to Chicago where Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn will proclaim it “Uno Day” in Illinois.

This past Wednesday, however, was Rosemary Kramm Day (you can read the Post-Dispatch story here) -- and we award a wag of the tail to Santini and Uno’s owners and handlers for making it so.

Top that, Aibo.

(Photo by Associated Press)