Mr. Bill is a cavalier King Charles spaniel owned by Missouri Rep. Beth Low. He likes to show off his partisan tricks. For example, when Low asks him, "Would you rather be dead or a Republican?" Mr. Bill lies down and plays dead. And, as Low explains, Mr. Bill isn't a one-trick dog: "I ask him, ÔMr. Bill, how tall is Matt Blunt?' And he stands up on his back legs." Low adopted Mr. Bill from the American Kennel Club's Rescue Society for cavaliers and named him after the '70s Saturday Night Live claymation character who screamed "Oh, no" before being flattened. He weighed 15 pounds. his teeth were rotting, he had four kinds of worms, and he was scared of everything. To adopt him, Low went through an extensive process that involved two interviews, two visits to her home and an essay. Now she keeps an elephant toy for him in her Jefferson City office. On bad days at the Capitol, she'll toss the elephant to Mr. Bill. "He'll kind of growl and shake it around," Low says. "He's definitely one of the yellower dogs in the Capitol. He's not afraid to declare his party affiliation. There are several Democrats who he beats with his loyalty."