Joe Biden meets golden retriever named Biden

March 23 (UPI) -- Former Vice President Joe Biden celebrated National Puppy Day early by meeting a golden retriever named Biden on Wednesday.

The meeting between the puppy and the vice president in Washington D.C. was captured on the golden retriever's Instagram page "bidenthegolden."

"Find someone who looks at you the way biden looked at me," the caption to one photo read.

The golden retriever's owner, Sydney told Buzzfeed she named the dog out of her admiration for the former vice president.

"I named the dog Biden just because he is probably my favorite politician and favorite elected official," she said. "I really respect Joe Biden even though I don't necessarily align with him politically."

Sydney said former Vice President Biden was excited to meet the D.C. puppy when he spotted him in the crowd while speaking about health care on Capitol Hill.

"As soon as he saw the dog during the actual speech, he pointed at the dog, tapped his friend and then started like cracking up. Right towards the end, I, like, kind of signaled him, and he, like, gave me a wink to come over," she said.

She added that Biden's face "lit up" when he learned the puppy bore his namesake and instantly took a liking to the young golden retriever.

"As soon as I told him his name was Biden, he started kissing the dog, which is like exactly what I expected Biden would do," Sydney said.