Vladimir Putin is a softy at heart

Okay, so Vladimir Putin has rolled back a few civil rights, cracked down on the media, and jailed an opponent or two. Hey can't be that bad--he has a dog! And we all know dog lovers are big softies, right?

Heck, Putin even takes his dog to to work with him. Check out the photos of the Russian President, his dog, and luminaries such as Tony Blair and Silvio Berlusconi.

The dog, Koni, frequently sits in on Putin's meetings with foreign heads of state. Maybe Russian reporters are hoping for a few inside scoops from Koni, because Putin had to demand that the media folk stop slipping him treats all the time!

You can check out more photos of Mr. Putin--some with Koni--on Yahoo news.