Sunday, April 12, 2009

Meet Bo (Diddley) Obama!


It's official. The new resident of the White House and the Obama family is Bo, a 6-month-old Portuguese water dog given to the Obama girls as a gift by that Portuguese water dog-lovin' senator himself, Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts.

A secret meeting apparently took place six weeks ago, and Bo (formerly known as Charlie), was a perfect little gentleman. He sat when the girls sat, stood when the girls stood. He made no toileting errors and did not gnaw on the furniture.

The Obamas have long said they wanted a rescue dog. But the carefully bred PWDs almost never end up in shelters. Bo had been living with another family, but it wasn't a good fit, so the Kennedys acquired him for the Obamas.

As for the rescue pledge, the Obamas came up with a solution intended to lend a serious symbolic note: They're going to make a donation to the D.C. Humane Society.

Guess I'm gonna cut them some slack. No, they didn't go to the local shelter and choose a dog the way we did, but then I'm not (nor is my husband) President of the United States. And, they did sort of "rescue" the dog from a home that wasn't quite right.

So, welcome to the White House, little Bo! What's your opinion?

Here's a link from my previous blog. To find a pet rescue shelter close to you click here.

Read full story from TODAY MSNBC.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bo is precious! What a cute little face. Keep telling hubby I need a dog, and he grumbles something about "you know you are allergic," so I just love everyone else's.

I think there will be plenty of opps for the Obama's to support the rescue causes.

Another great supporter of rescue dogs (Bassett Hounds) you should check out http://tomschreck.com He has raised over $7000 with his Duffy Dombroski Mystery series.

Http://karensyed.blogspot.com

Gayle Carline said...

A true rescue dog would have been nice, IF there had not been allergies involved. I think the Obamas did the best they could to accomodate their daughters, and their donation probably helped more than one homeless puppy at a shelter somewhere. Good job!

http://gaylecarline.blogspot.com

Mary Cunningham said...

Karen, Bo is hypo-allergenic, so tell hubby one just like him would be perfect!!

We had a Bassett hound named Wilbur. He was a sweetheart.

I agree, Gayle and Karen. They did what they needed to and helped where they could. Thanks for stopping by!

Regan Black said...

I think Bo's great, but water dogs don't often like to let their people swim for fun, just a trivia point a newfoundland owner told me once.

And Karen, PWDs like Bo and Greyhounds are hypoallergenic...so tell the hubby the excuses are dwindling - pets are good for your heart too!

Regan
http://www.regansrealm.blogspot.com

Mary Cunningham said...

So, Regan, are you saying that if Malia and Sasha are swimming, Bo will jump in and try to "rescue" them?

See, Karen, there are no more excuses! The Obama's decided on a PWD because of Malia's allergies.

(I'm just sayin')

Julie said...

I'm glad they have a dog. But, oh, would it have been so horrible to let the breed choice slide and stick with the shelter plan? I think I might rather have seen them become flexible going in the direction of a shelter dog that might have ended up being a perfect mutt. I know what that would have done for adoption at shelters...now watch how many people will pay out the nose for the breed instead. Oh well.

Mary Cunningham said...

That was my first thought too, Julie, but then I thought about poor Malia and her allergies.

Guess it's better that both girls can enjoy and love Bo rather than one having to avoid him.

Let's hope their contribution saved lots of dogs and cats!

Home At Last said...

Amen to that! Mary.

I would rescue a million dogs if I could.

I am currently working on notecards for the Southern States Rottweiler Rescue!

I have designed the cards with my girlfriend's art! She was a great lover of animals and died of cancer! What better way to put her art to good use. She's smiling in heaven!

www.SSRR.org

Talk about a breed with issues! Our Zena is the most precious, kind dog but people see her and freak out! (size and bad press)

Many end up in kill shelters!

http://homeatlastwithpatty.blogspot.com
www.HomeAtLast.net

Mary Cunningham said...

You do your friend great honor, Patty! I'm sure she's smiling down on you and on Zena.

Thanks for taking the time to read and comment.

chris v said...

I think he's cute too! Not a traditional "rescus" but apparently he still needed a new home! I'd never really heard of this breed before.

Mayra Calvani said...

He's cute!!!!

Mary Cunningham said...

Thanks for visiting, Mayra. I agree! Looks like he'll be a hand full, though. I just hope people don't go out and buy the dogs just because the first family has one.

Helen Ginger said...

He's a really cute dog. One thing I think is great about his pick is that this is a breed I'd never heard of, so the Obama's are introducing a lot of us to a new breed of dog. Plus, he works for Malia's allergies.

Helen
http://straightfromhel.blogspot.com

Mary Cunningham said...

Thanks for the comment, Helen! I admire them for all the investigating they did considering Malia's allergies.

It would've been heartbreaking if they'd gotten a dog she was unable to be around.