Beckett is the chief watchdog and happiness officer at The Buckeye Institute. In this role, he takes very seriously his responsibilities, which include but are not limited to: sniffing out government spending (or really anything related to pork), warmly greeting guests, and keeping staff morale high.

An expert hunter—he is an A.K.C. registered Irish (field) Setter after all—Beckett was rescued from a farm in Kansas where he was found running loose multiple times in 2020, following which Robert and Rebekah Alt adopted him as a then-rascally two-year-old.

Beckett is an avid distance runner who regularly accompanies his favorite companion in half-marathon race training. In his free time, Beckett enjoys long naps near sunny windows, playing with stuffed toys, and alerting policy experts at Buckeye when he senses trouble brewing at the Ohio Statehouse or if his nose leads him to believe politicians are getting drunk on power.

His faithful service to taxpayers and citizens—looking out for the public fisc—cannot be sufficiently heralded. He has been frequently encouraged to seek office himself, but campaigning and fundraising are tough for a fellow who is so easily distracted by squirrels.

Fittingly, Beckett is the namesake of his human father’s late best friend of more than 20 years, Roger L. Beckett (former executive director of the Ashbrook Center). Although the two never met, the canine Beckett somehow uncannily managed to inherit Roger’s gorgeous red hair, love of fine steak, and infectiously friendly demeanor.