When a president sends an official memo, it is typically about matters that are incredibly serious. That’s why it’s come as a fun surprise that a presidential memo written by George H.W. Bush has surfaced that is nothing short of hilarious!

In the memo, Bush gives his staffers a stern (but mostly silly) message about Ranger, his overweight dog who was one of the puppies of the Bush family dog Millie. Bush had originally given Ranger to his granddaughter Marshall Bush, but the puppy soon returned to the White House so that he could have more room.

Then-First Lady Barbara Bush said that Ranger shared a close bond with her husband, and they even showered together at least once! She added that Ranger loved running around the White House, and he quickly made friends with staffers there.

“Ranger made so many friends that we suddenly noticed that he was growing by leaps and bounds,” she said. “Out, not up — and George had to send out a memo requesting people not feed Ranger.”

Yes, Bush really did send an official presidential memo to light-heartedly scold his staff about overfeeding his pooch. Here’s the full memo:

“This is an all-points bulletin from the President. 

Subject: My Dog ‘Ranger’

Recently Ranger was put on a weight-reduction program. Either that program succeeds or we enter Ranger in the Houston Fat Stock Show as Prime Hereford.

All offices should take a formal ‘pledge’ that reads as follows: ‘We agree not to feed Ranger. We will not give him biscuits. We will not give him food of any kind.’

In addition, Ranger’s ‘access’ is hereby restricted. He has been told not to wander the corridors without an escort. This applies to the East and West Wings, to the Residence from the 3rd floor to the very, very bottom basement. 

Although Ranger will still be permitted to roam at Camp David, the Camp David staff including the Marines, Naval personnel, All Civilians and Kids are specifically instructed to “rat” on anyone seen feeding Ranger.

Ranger has been asked to wear a ‘Do not feed me’ badge in addition to his ID.

I will, of course, report on Ranger’s fight against obesity. Right now, he looks like a blimp, a nice friendly appealing blimp, but a blimp.

We Need Your Help — All hands, please help.

From the President.”

George Bush Sr’s dog got so fat in 1992 that he (Bush) sent this memo to all White House staff.#InternationalDogDay pic.twitter.com/W70Ld4o2xT

— Letters of Note (@LettersOfNote) August 26, 2019

We can only imagine what staffers thought when they read that! They must have had quite a good laugh that day.