Obama Goes Back on Promise to Adopt a Crossbreed Shelter Dog
When he was resoundingly elected to office we were promised change. But, it seems, true to type the new American president is a politician at heart so should we really have expected anything different? The US president has kept his pledge to his family to get them a dog once installed in the White House but he has reneged on his promise to adopt a shelter dog AND his claim that he would be taking on a ‘mutt’ (crossbreed). Instead, the Obama’s have taken a ‘gift’ dog which is a pedigree Portuguese Water Dog. So, despite saying he’d adopt a crossbreed he’s actually been given a pedigree from a breeder. A lie? A broken promise? Saying one thing and doing another? All in a day’s work for the average politician it would appear.
Obama family ‘picks first puppy’
US Senator Ted Kennedy and his Portuguese water dog, Splash (27/11/2006)
Mr Kennedy, a fan of the water dog, is said to have gifted one to the ObamasThe promised US presidential pooch has been picked, US media reports say.
The soon-to-be “first puppy” is a six-month-old black-and-white Portuguese water dog that the Obama girls have named Bo, the Washington Post reports.
The girls – Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7 – were promised a puppy by their father, US President Barack Obama, as a reward for coping with the election campaign.
The water dog, which does not shed hair, is said to be less aggravating for Malia who suffers from allergies.
The identity of the puppy – which had been one of Washington’s best kept secrets – will be officially revealed by the White House on Tuesday afternoon, the Post said.
But news of the furry addition to the Obama family was leaked by unnamed staffers to the Washington Post and AP news agency.
‘Good behaviour’
They said young Bo – who sports a white chest, white paws and a white goatee – was a gift to the Obama daughters from close family friend, Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts.
Kix, a Portuguese Water Dog, at the Crufts dog show in Telford, England in March
Choosing the First Puppy
Mr Kennedy, who owns three water dogs himself, said in January that he was “proud to endorse the Portuguese water dog as the next First Dog of the United States”.
He said the breed would be a “perfect fit for the Obama Family” as the dogs have a “can-do and hopeful spirit” and were smart, resilient, determined, optimistic and tireless.
Bo was reported to have charmed the first family during a secret meeting at the White House a few weeks ago, the Post said, citing an unnamed source.
It said the top dog made no toileting errors and did not gnaw on the furniture because he has been receiving lessons in good behaviour from the Kennedys’ dog trainers at a secret location outside Washington.
The choice of the US presidential pooch has been a pet topic for the nation’s press ever since Mr Obama promised his daughters a puppy during the campaign.
The president, for his part, has embraced the media buzz. READ FULL
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I understand being annoyed and/or upset with Obama on this, because its not like he really saved a dog with this “rehoming” stuff. THAT SAID, HE DID NOT PROMISE to get a shelter mutt. He specifically said he was balancing the need for a hypoallergenic dog for Malia’s allergies with his preference for “a mutt like me.” So that is far from a promise. And he always said “puppy”. So he got a 6 month old that was given back to the breeder, which was going to a shelter because nobody comes to breeders fro 6 month old puppies. Look, it is not good in the eyes of shelter proponents like myself….but he has not done some “politics” or lying with this.
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[...] Dog magazine’s Ryan O’Meara says this is just more of the same. “When he was resoundingly elected to office we were [...]
Obama Lied. Mutts Die.
Clearly he had a choice to do the right thing and he chose not to. His claim to want to find a purebred at a shelter is like telling people you only want costume jewelry so long as it’s 24 karat gold.
From what I’ve read, the dog was not returned to the breeder, but was “given” to the Kennedy’s who then took him in, trained him and re-gifted him to the Obamas. Considering the cost of these pure-breds and the cost of training, it seems to me that the dog’s original owner is bypassing political contribution limits with this so-called “gift”. Just another honest mistake like the ones made by Geithner and Daschle.
This is a “let them eat cake” out of touch moment for the young president. We’ll have plenty more of these from this “politics as usual” guy.
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Ryan….I know we all hoped Obama would adopt a shelter dog. What we are forgetting or overlooking is his daughter is allergic to dogs. I am sure they would have adopted from a shelter if that were not the case. Sometimes we are too quick to criticize when we are hoping for another outcome.
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[...] thing and doing another? All in a day’s work for the average politician it would appear,” wrote Ryan O’Meara at Dog [...]
Truly a missed opportunity to break down the barriers over adopting a shelter dog that some people seem to have.
As Mr Obama is a politician, he really is onto a hifing to nothing whatever he does.
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The author of this article is simply taking his own political predjudices into the dog issues.
I have never heard Obama make promises regarding adopting – only that he was looking for a puppy and considering adoption as one alternative, just like any other family looking for the right dog.
Has buying a pure-bred puppy or accepting one as a gift now become immoral in our society? If not, then please let the man and his family enjoy his dog in peace, and try to work hard on fixing this country’s problems and moving it forward – which is something he indeed promised, and has been working hard on since the first day on the job, unlike our previous president.
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