Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee's son, David Huckabee, was allegedly involved in the hanging of a stray dog while acting as a counselor a boy scout camp. In late 2007, Mike Huckabee came under scrutiny for his alleged involvement in preventing an investigation into the incident.

According to John Bailey, who was the director of Arkansas state police in 1998, Mike Huckabee's chief of staff and personal lawyer asked Bailey to deny a request from the state prosecutor to investigate the dog-hanging incident. Seven months later, Huckabee fired Bailey and cited one of the reasons as: "I couldn't get you to help me with my son when I had that problem." Newsweek: A Son’s Past Deeds Come Back To Bite Huckabee (December 27, 2007)