Comments on: The Obama Family Welcomes The New First Dog

By: hee-hee-hee

hee-hee-hee — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:53:03 +0000

omg i wouldnt ever get a dog as ugly as that!!! lol :P

By: PixieBassline

PixieBassline — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 22:48:09 +0000

I’d never name a dog anything that sounds that close to the word “No.”
Dog looks like he’d make an excellent mop.

By: Christine

Christine — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:35:20 +0000

Okay, I have not laughed this hard in a long time. Bo “will be officially presented to the Obamas by the Kennedys on Tuesday”???? Really? That is HILARIOUS! I love that the Kennedys managed to squeeze their way into this one. Wow, that family REALLY knows how to work the press. Will they trot out Ted Kennedy (isn’t he really, really sick and weak?), or will one of the lesser Kennedys get the call. Are they all waiting by their phones, or texting back and forth fighting over who will get to present the dog? The picture in my head is very amusing.

I completely agree that there does need to be some damage control immediately to avoid a situation like what occurred with “101 Dalmations”. I worked at the shelter during this time, and it was heartbreaking how many dalmations were surrendered because they are such an active breed and many people were not prepared for it. The AKC or some other expert body needs to release a statement with the VERY SPECIFIC breed characteristics of the PWD to stop this from happening.

Secondly, just do your own homework! There is a dog for every family, but you have to actually research them, because they are all so different. I personally rescue Australian Shepherds, but they are not for everyone as they are extremely high energy and intelligent (as in one of mine locked me out of the house once, surely accidental…).

Thirdly, every breed is prone to its very specific health problems. Look them up! Don’t be surprised when your pure breed dog gets one of the health problems that the breed is known for. I have a mutt who is 13 years old and never had a single health problem. Not so for my Aussies.

By: Allie

Allie — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:52:17 +0000

according to tmz:

reports that Ted Kennedy gave the puppy to the First Family as a gift — untrue. It was re-homed by the kennel and the Kennedy family only facilitated the transfer.

– the pup was coming from a Texas kennel
– the kennel had sold Senator Ted Kennedy 3 Portuguese Water Dogs in the past, all from the same lineage
– the dog the Obama’s were getting is also from the same lineage as the Kennedy dogs
– the Obama dog was originally sold to a private owner, who returned it
– the dog was named Charlie, but the Obamas planned to rename it
– the dog was going to be “re-homed” to the Obamas from the kennel, and presented to the Obamas by the Kennedy family
– the reason it’s important that the dog was “re-homed” is because the Obamas could not accept the dog as a gift, and re-homing averts the problem.
– the dog will be officially presented to the Obamas by the Kennedys on Tuesday

By: Meggo

Meggo — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 05:27:02 +0000

One thing that drives me crazy is all this talk of “hypoallergenic” dogs. THERE IS NO SUCH THING. Anything with skin, fur, saliva (all the things that cause the allergic reaction in the first place) can cause allergic outbreaks in people. While certain breeds tend to shed less and have dander/saliva that have a lower incidence of reactions, they are not hypoallergenic. *sigh*

Not sure why it bothers me so much, but I’m off of my soapbox now. All that being said, I hope Bo brings the Obama family lots of smile and love. Congratulations to them! :)

By: bip

bip — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 02:05:26 +0000

I didn’t understand why Obama made such a big deal to say they would get a pet from a shelter when it was pretty obvious because of the allergy issue that they would not follow through… I guess I see Christine’s point but I think ksae’s is more likely to become true.

So it is a gift from Ted Kennedy via a family who couldn’t keep the dog?? Huh.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 01:46:54 +0000

P. S. There are no such things as an allergen free dog. Trust me…I’ve tried.

By: ksae

ksae — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 23:00:14 +0000

Chrissy, I also have two PWDs. However, mine topped out at 40 and 50 lbs respectively. They are very big mushes, I must say. I am happy that they chose a fabulous breed, but I’m also worried how this will affect the breed. Does anyone remember 101 Dalmatians? After that film, people began buying Dalmatians like crazy…and a couple of years later, shelters were filled with them! I hope that the attention brought to this breed is not negative!

And Danna, yeah, that was my first thought when I heard the name Bo. Bo, no…even I would get confused!

By: Anie

Anie — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 22:27:30 +0000

my dog’s boyfriend is a PWD- the most gorgeous, but devilishly misbehaving dog EVER.
haha… BO…
(i need to grow up!)

By: chrissy

chrissy — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 18:22:25 +0000

I have a Portie and he is awesome. I was excited to see that the Obama’s picked a Portie. They are very high energy and dont shed. He wont be little for long. They are very big dogs and VERY loving. My dog’s name is Romeo for a reason.

By: Amy

Amy — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 18:14:21 +0000

I myself would not want a dog(or a cat) to live at my house, but I like to visit other peoples dogs for a few minutes. Glad they found a dog.

By: danna

danna — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 17:28:17 +0000

BO is cute because it is also their dad’s initials? :) good for them, what a cute puppy!

By: Snow

Snow — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:52:47 +0000

everyone knows you can’t name a dog “bo” …. how will it ever distinguish its name and the word no? duh….

By: Allie

Allie — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:05:45 +0000

First, Happy Easter! Secondly, it IS ridiculous, but I understand why they want to be hush-hush about it. I read a story the other day about Joe Biden picking a dog from a breeder. The breeder has been receiving death threats for 3 months because of PETA! They believe he should have gone to a shelter instead of a breeder. Which yeah, it would have been nice to rescue a dog (all of my dogs have come from a shelter), but not everyone wants a mutt & not everyone wants to wait for the breed they want to end up in a shelter.

By: Christine

Christine — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 15:46:28 +0000

Really? All this over a dog? I worked for a non-profit, no-kill animal shelter for two years as their accountant, part-time dog washer, part-time vet tech, part time adoption counselor…you see where I am going with this. The Obamas raised awareness of shelter animals just by the sheer amount of time they spent TALKING about wanting a shelter dog. Face it, People, their family had restrictions, namely Malia’s allergies. Not everyone can find a suitable dog at a shelter, and that is okay. You can bet this dog didn’t come from a puppy mill, and at the end of the day, that is all I care about.

Think of all the families who are now considering shelter animals, or have adopted shelter animals just by all the discussions the Obamas started. Good for them, I’m glad the Obama Girls finally have their dog and can enjoy him without PETA showing up and throwing whatever it is they throw at people who don’t do exactly as they preach. Calm down. It’s a family dog for little girls. Let’s worry about the economy, rights for gays and all minorities, and terrorism.

Welcome, Bo! i hope your White House handlers or the Secret Service are more attentive than poor Buddy’s were. How about we all just advocate a leash for Bo?!