PARIS, Jan 21, 2009 (AFP) - France's former president Jacques Chirac has been bitten by his lap dog Sumo, who is being treated for depression, in a dramatic incident that rattled his wife Bernadette, she told a magazine.
    "If you only knew! I had a dramatic day yesterday," she told VSD magazine. "Sumo bit my husband!"
    Sumo is a "Maltese", a miniature lap dog with a silky white coat. He has been agitated for some time despite receiving treatment with anti-depressants, the article said.
    A member of the right wing former president's entourage confirmed that 76-year-old Chirac had been bitten, but insisted that the attack had not been serious and had not left a permanent scar.
    Chirac, who is a fan of Sumo wrestling, left office in 2007 after Nicolas Sarkozy was elected to the presidency.