Excalibur the dog really never stood a chance. As we previously reported, the pet of the first Ebola patient in Spain was suspected of possibly being infected with the disease and the Spanish went into a panic. Despite protests in the streets and an online petition campaign which drew tens of thousands of supporters, the dog was euthanized.

Nana Pham, the Texas nurse who is currently under treatment for the disease, has a dog as well. And the spaniel was living in her apartment, potentially exposed to the virus.

But this is ‘MURICA, baby.

Bentley, the dog owned by Ebola-infected Texas nurse Nina Pham, has tested negative for Ebola, Dallas officials said Wednesday. Sana Syed, public information officer for the city of Dallas, said the year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel will be tested again before the end of his 21-day quarantine period. Last week, Bentley was removed from the 26-year-old nurse’s Dallas apartment and placed under quarantine. On Monday, Bentley was transitioned into a special kennel for the proper collection of his urine and feces. He was later returned to his quarantined kennel.

I’m very happy for Bentley. But even more than a general sense of relief – especially for Nana Pham – what else can we learn from this? America is a compassionate nation to be sure, and we love our dogs. But even more than that, the bureaucrats in Washington love to win elections. And with only two weeks to go before the midterms, there was no way on God’s green Earth that anyone in the CDC was going to be allowed to give the order to put that dog down. The headlines would have been a nightmare and the name Bentley would, you may rest assured, have come up during a White House press room briefing.

Now the dog just needs to make it though the rest of his 21 day quarantine without looking ill. The fortunate happenstance of the calendar has clearly worked out in Bentley’s favor. Had all of this taken place a month from now – or in an odd numbered year – the poor thing might be waiting for Ms. Pham in a cremation urn. But in the fourth week of October, Bentley was going to survive even if they had to fly Kent Brantly down there to personally give him a transfusion.