Bo Obama, Bo (dog)

Bo, also known as Bo Obama, (born October 9, 2008) is the pet dog of the Obama family, the First Family of the United States. Bo is a neutered male Portuguese Water Dog, or Portie. President Barack Obama and his family were given the dog as a gift after months of speculation about the breed and identity of their future pet. The final choice was made in part because Malia Obama's allergies dictated a need for a hypoallergenic breed. The White House has referred to him as the "First Dog", a US cultural term used during several previous administrations.

Breed background

Main article: Portuguese Water Dog
The Portuguese Water Dog is a fairly rare breed; only 48 Portuguese Water Dogs were entered for Britain's Crufts competition in 2009 and the author of The New Complete Portuguese Water Dog, Kitty Braund, believes there are about 50,000 Porties in North America. Although some breeders claim they are a hypoallergenic dog breed, there is no scientific evidence to support this claim.



Breeding and original owners

Bred by Art and Martha Stern of Boyd, Texas, one of Bo's nine litter mates is the late Senator Ted Kennedy's Portie named Cappy (Amigo's Captain Courageous); the litter was named "Hope and Change" in honor of Obama's victory.


The Obamas with Bo
Bo was purchased by someone (a person unknown to the public) from the breeders, but eventually the new owner returned him to the Stern family; when buying the dog, the original purchaser had signed a contract requiring him to return the dog to the breeder if things did not work out. Bo was enrolled on January 5, 2009 with Kennedy's obedience trainer Dawn Sylvia in Hume, Virginia.
Bo Obama has a brother named Rico who is owned by King and Tracy Soledad of Houston, Texas.

Media attention as Obamas select the First Dog

At his first press conference as President-elect, Obama was questioned by reporters as to which breed the family was looking to acquire; he replied, "our preference would be to get a shelter dog, but, obviously, a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me." He also noted "Malia is allergic, so it has to be hypoallergenic. There are a number of breeds that are hypoallergenic."
In response to a question his daughters pressed George Stephanopolous in early January to ask of their father on air, Obama said "They seem to have narrowed it down to a labradoodle or a Portuguese water hound ... medium-sized dog, and so, we're now going to start looking at shelters to see when one of those dogs might come up." Much was made by the public and press about the family's search for a dog. On April 12, 2009, it was announced that the Obamas would soon accept a six-month-old Portuguese Water Dog puppy as a gift from Senator Kennedy. The dog was reported to have visited the family some weeks earlier in a secret meeting to gauge compatibility and purportedly referred to by staffers as "The Meeting". However, the gift was not accepted until the dog officially arrived and moved in at the White House on Tuesday, April 14. 2009; Immediately after he arrived, the family staged a photo op with Bo on the property's South Lawn. At the conference, Obama was asked if he would allow Bo inside the Oval Office, to which he responded: "of course." He also gave a nod to President Harry Truman's famous quote, "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." The White House website was later updated to include official pictures and biographical details of Bo.




Biographical details

Bo wearing a lei upon his White House arrival
Listed by the name Amigo's New Hope with American Kennel Club's breed registryand given the name Charlie by his original owners, the puppy received his current name from President Obama's two daughters, Malia and Sasha, in part after their cousins' cat and Michelle Obama's father's nickname Diddley; the dog is a namesake of deceased singer Bo Diddley.
In June 2009, the White House released a baseball card for Bo with his new official portrait on one side and tongue-in-cheek statistics on the other; information included the facts that Bo's favorite food is tomatoes and that he does not yet know how to swim. The card is available by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the White House.



Disputed rescue heritage

The Obama family originally seemed to emphasize their desire for an adopted shelter dog, but made no firm commitments.In the summer of 2008, Best Friends Animal Society, an animal welfare organization, gathered 50,000 signatures on a petition asking the family to adopt a shelter animal.
As Bo is a gift from the Kennedy family, he is not a shelter dog. Some dog experts such as Cesar Millan state that Bo could be considered part of a larger group known as rescue dogs, as he was unsuccessful in his first home, when plans for him to provide companionship to an older female dog went awry because he irritated the dog through attempts to suckle. The Obamas have pledged to donate to the District of Columbia Humane Society to show their support for shelter dogs.


The Obamas walking with Bo
Some criticism has arisen from animal welfare supporters because Bo was not adopted from a shelter.The Humane Society of the United States released a statement on their website thanking the Obamas "for taking in a second-chance dog," but also encouraged the public to avoid going through breeders.

Reactions by and in the media

Bo and the President running through the halls
The Washington Post's Manuel Roig-Franzia, granted exclusive initial access to Bo for the print media, described the puppy: "Bo's a handsome little guy. Well suited for formal occasions at the White House, he's got tuxedo-black fur, with a white chest, white paws and a rakish white goatee."
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) described the family's choice to accept the gift of a puppy from a family friend as "disquieting" and publicly urged the President to have Bo neutered, though the dog had been neutered before the Obamas received him.

In anticipation of increased interest in the breed, the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America issued a statement requesting that members of the public considering obtaining the dogs "ensure that this breed fits their lifestyle," advising that Porties' needs preclude their being left alone for long periods or boarded in kennels.
Immediately upon Bo joining the First Family, four children's books and a plush toy depicting him were slated for publication or manufacture.
On July 17, 2009, the author Ben Greenman, writing in The New York Times as Bo, reflected on his first hundred days in office.
In the final episode of the History Channel's Life After People, aired March 16, 2010, the producers imagined what life would be like for Bo after the disappearance of people.