Finally, the Obama Dog is Announced

It seemed like it would last until after Al Franken was seated. It was discussed even more than who Barack Obama would select to fill his various cabinet positions. But finally, the Obamas have selected their new first dog: a 6-month old Portuguese water dog who was a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy, a democrat from Massachusetts. It comes from the same lineage as many of his dogs. The first daughters, Malia, age 10, and Sacha, age 7, have renamed the dog Bo, from Charlie. It comes as a fulfillment of a promise to the girls, as President Obama told them that if he won, he would get them a dog. Neither of the girls has ever had a pet before.

For a long time, nobody knew when or even if a dog would ever arrive at the White House. President Obama jokingly referred to the topic as, "top secret," and even Mrs. Obama would give no more specific time frame than "soon." The closest that anybody was able to learn was a comment given to People that the dog would arrive sometime after the children's Spring break, which was sometime in April. Finally, the anticipation of everybody in America has been sated.

The dog has not yet arrived in the White House, but there was a clandestine rendezvous between the Obama children and the dog over the last few weeks, since Senator Kennedy offered the Obamas the dog. However, according to TMZ, the dog is going to arrive at the White House this Tuesday, at which point it will have the official renaming. This information was a leak, as every one of the Obamas has been trying to keep it secret.

According to the Washington Post, the dog has been receiving special training from the Kennedy trainers for a very long time to prepare him as this gift. He was originally reacquired from another family who wanted to send him back to a shelter, and the Kennedys saved him for just this purpose. It does raise a question about whether the gift is politically motivated. This is especially a large possibility based on the cost of the operation of training and acquiring the dog: Again, according to the Washington Post, the training has been occurring at an undisclosed location, and has been going on for several weeks, with Kennedy's personal dog trainers (he is a Portuguese water dog aficionado). The dog was trained to stand when the girls stood, sit when they sat, and charmed everybody in the family. He even knew to avoid the furniture.

Portuguese water dogs are serious animals that grow to between 20 and 23 inches long, and weigh as much as 60 pounds. They normally have a full coat of black, curly fur, but can have white spots here and there or white stripes at various locations. According to rumor, Bo is one of the latter, with a white stripe underneath his chin. He is also an excellent animal for the white house because Portuguese water dogs do not shed their fur and are calm.

References

BERMAN, J. (2009, April 12). 'Bo' Is a Go: Obamas Reportedly Pick a Dog - ABC News. Retrieved April 12, 2009, from http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/Weekend/story?id=7317449&page=1

Corey, M. (2009, April 12). President Obama's dog to arrive Tuesday?. Retrieved April 12, 2009, from weblogs.baltimoresun.com/features/mutts/blog/2009/04/president_obamas_dog_to_arrive.html

Roig-Franzia, M. (2009, April 12). Obamas' puppy is out of the bag. Retrieved April 12, 2009, from www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-obama-dog12-2009apr12,0,4631254.story

Travers, K. (2009, April 10). Obama Mum on White House Dog - 'Top Secret!'* - Political Punch. Retrieved April 12, 2009, from http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/04/first-dog-arriv.html