Joe Biden meets a golden retriever puppy called Biden at Capitol Obamacare protest

'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'

'As soon as I told him, his face lit up' (AP)

For once, the former US Vice President wasn't the "Biden" everyone wanted to see.

Instead, Joe Biden had to play second fiddle to a four-month-old Golden Retriever puppy bearing his name.

The pair met at protest against the dismantling of ‘Obamacare’ outside the Capitol Building in Washington DC, after the veteran politician spotted the creature in the crowd and started "cracking up".

Wandering over Mr Biden started kissing the puppy and his namesake was quick to reciprocate.

“I named the dog Biden just because he is probably my favourite politician and favourite elected official,” his owner Sydney told BuzzFeed News. She declined to give her surname.

“I really respect Joe Biden even though I don't necessarily align with him politically," she added. "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 signalled him, and he, like, gave me a wink to come over.

“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. As soon as I told him [that the dog’s name was Biden], his face lit up.”

The 74-year-old was making his first major public appearance since leaving the White House in what served as both a protest and an anniversary celebration of the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

A recent Congressional Budget Office estimate predicted that the Republicans’ new replacement healthcare bill will save $337 billion (£227 billion) over a decade.

But it will also mean an estimated 24 million more Americans will lose healthcare coverage and 14 million of them in the first year alone.

Mr Biden told the protesting crowd that the new bill was a “tax bill” that will transfer close to $1 trillion to wealthy people who “don’t need it”.