Apparently, because nothing is real anymore and reality is whatever you claim it to be, the White House has pushed back on whether Conan, the Belgian Malinois that helped take down al-Baghdadi was in fact not a female dog, as originally reported, but a male one.

These are strange times indeed.

Source: Business Insider

A White House official on Monday said that Conan, the military working dog that helped take down ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northwest Syria in October, was a female.

However, a few hours later, a White House official said the dog was in fact a male, adding to a debate that developed after President Donald Trump tweeted a photo of the dog after the raid.

Conan was awarded a medal and a plaque by Trump and Vice President Mike Pence at the White House on Monday. Trump, Pence, and Conan walked out to the White House lawn, where the president described Conan as "the world's most famous dog" who had an "incredible story."

Trump, who referred to the dog with male pronouns several times, said he thought it was a good idea to "put a muzzle on the dog" because of its "violent" tendencies, though it was unmuzzled throughout the ceremony. The president's remarks did not deter Pence, who petted Conan several times on her head.

There was speculation over Conan's gender after Trump released her name and a photo of her in an abrupt tweet after the raid. But former military dog handlers and canine experts were still at an impasse, with some intensely examining the photo.

"I've seen the photo of the dog," a former military dog handler told Business Insider after the raid. "And if you blow up that photo, it's not a female dog — it's a male dog."

ABC's Terry Moran was a bit flabberghasted, shall we say.

And other tweets came in.

And what to make of this, today?