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First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:30 pm
by minimetoo26
A Portuguese Water Dog.

They're cute.

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:33 pm
by Evil Squirrel
When are they finally gonna put a squirrel in the White House? What is this, Russia!?!?!?

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:37 pm
by SportsFan68
They are cute! Perfect!

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:38 pm
by ghostjmf
They are big. They are slobberingly friendly. (My cousin had one.)

I did not know they are hypoallergenic, the way Lhasa Apsos demonstrably are.

(The Obamas didn't even, sob, have Lhasas on their short list!)

Snowball, the name I read that the Obama Girls had picked out for their imagined fluffy white small terrier-type pet, will be kinda incongruous on a Portugese Water Spaniel, which I didn't know came in white.

Whereas Lhasas are small enough, very fluffy, come in white (they come in various mixtures of white, golden-brown, & black) & could pass for a terrier at a distance. With the summertime short haircut.

Oh well.

The important part is, its a dog.

Right?

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:41 pm
by silverscreenselect
Give credit where it's due.

That's one promise Obama has kept.

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:42 pm
by SportsFan68
Evil Squirrel wrote:When are they finally gonna put a squirrel in the White House? What is this, Russia!?!?!?
Russia won't put a squirrel in the home of a head of state?????!!!!


Good for them. I may have to re-think some things . . .

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:44 pm
by Jeemie
silverscreenselect wrote:Give credit where it's due.

That's one promise Obama has kept.
Yeah- but he had to.

We made the same promise when we moved into our new house...and trust me, kids are tougher than any political pundit or constituent, and have a longer memory besides!

the Kennedy influence Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:48 pm
by ghostjmf
Not Jack. Teddy. On googling Portuguese Water Dogs in general (to see if they were the same as my cousin's Portuguese Water Spaniel; they are, but cousin's was huge, & these are mid-sized) I read about Teddy Kennedy's, ahem, 2 Portuguese Water Dogs.

So Obama Sr (as in, El Prez) may have already met & liked the breed. Considering how he & Ted K are friends & all.

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:50 pm
by ghostjmf
And they do, from the pictures, come in white. One white one for about 4,2000 black & black-&-white ones.

Snowball? Well, still a stretch, but OK.

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:52 pm
by Jeemie
ghostjmf wrote:And they do, from the pictures, come in white. One white one for about 4,2000 black & black-&-white ones.

Snowball? Well, still a stretch, but OK.
They lived in Chicago, where the snow is gray.

Maybe that's where they got the idea for the name...

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:11 pm
by TheConfessor
minimetoo26 wrote:A Portuguese Water Dog.
It's a shame Obama couldn't find an American to fill the position, but at least the selection appears to be based on merit. Any dog that can swim from Lisbon to Washington has my full support. Calling him a "water dog" seems like an understatement.

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:13 pm
by MarleysGh0st
It doesn't sound like the name is decided yet, which is reasonable, considering that they won't actually be getting the dog until April.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... wD96IOIJ00
The first couple and their daughters have been going back and forth on possible names. Among the two Mrs. Obama mentioned — and nixed — were Frank and Moose.

"I'm like, no. Come on. Let's work with the names a little bit," she told People.

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:35 pm
by ghostjmf
Marley says:
It doesn't sound like the name is decided yet, which is reasonable, considering that they won't actually be getting the dog until April.
When 1st I read about the Obama Girls' Dog Quest, the article said they wanted a small fluffy white terrier they could name "Snowball". And I'm stickin' to it! Even if they may not.

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:35 pm
by Jeemie
MarleysGh0st wrote:It doesn't sound like the name is decided yet, which is reasonable, considering that they won't actually be getting the dog until April.
Are they going to pay for it with the extra $13 in Obama's check?

:mrgreen:

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:37 pm
by MarleysGh0st
ghostjmf wrote:Marley says:
It doesn't sound like the name is decided yet, which is reasonable, considering that they won't actually be getting the dog until April.
When 1st I read about the Obama Girls' Dog Quest, the article said they wanted a small fluffy white terrier they could name "Snowball". And I'm stickin' to it! Even if they may not.
Is it possible they might, you know, change their mind?

Ah, yes, you said they may not stick to that. But you, for some reason I can't fathom, would rather not.

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:42 pm
by ghostjmf
Marley says:
Is it possible they might, you know, change their mind?
They might. Its even more possible their dad might change their minds for them.

I read another interview where he talked about how the girls want little small fluffy dogs, whereas he likes what he himself called "big manly-man dogs". Whatever the heck that means. If a bunch of men who love little small fluffy dogs but consider themselves manly men had read that, who knows what the outcome of the election might have been.

Except I guess manly men, even those manly men who like little small fluffy dogs, don't go much in for reading interviews about picking out dogs for a couple of girls.

At any rate, Portuguese Water Dogs are definitely fluffy. In their own way.

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:45 pm
by ghostjmf
Marley says:
Ah, yes, you said they may not stick to that. But you, for some reason I can't fathom, would rather not.
I wanted to see a small, fluffy, any-color Lhasa in the White House. But the Presidential Mind was made up in favor of Portuguese Water Dogs or Labradoodles ahead of time, anyway, by all reports.

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:48 pm
by Jeemie
Shouldn't you be calling him Mr. Gh0st?

:mrgreen:

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 2:09 pm
by SportsFan68
If you give them a couple days, pets will usually name themselves. Squeaky, Bigfoot, GinaCattabrigida, Samantha, Tigger, Mork, Kenosha, HeCAT-e, Shadow -- all named themselves to a greater or less extent. Samantha was such a beautiful black kitty, she indicated that she would need to be named after Bewitched. She left it to us whether to pick Samantha or Tabitha or Endora. Bigfoot was a medium kitty with king-sized, six-toed feet. Casey named herself the day she wormed her way into SteelersFan's affections on that softball field.

I think the same thing will happen with the First Dog. Snowball may be the correct name. Or Fuzzy, or Max, or . . . Who knows? The dog will.

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 3:16 pm
by ghostjmf
SportsFan68 (aka Sprots) says:
If you give them a couple days, pets will usually name themselves.
I have found that to be true. However, 1st-Kids may not know that, never, sob, having had a pet (yet).

I had to come up with a name in advance for my current pet, though. The shelter wouldn't sign him out "without a name". So what I put on the form sorta stuck, but actually what is on the form is "Pawtucket Tucker", based on where the shelter was, & he wound up "just" being Tucker. Every time a vet attendant says "Pawtucket Tucker" (which isn't often, considering how he hates vet attention), I do a "what huh".

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 4:40 pm
by Bob Juch
Evil Squirrel wrote:When are they finally gonna put a squirrel in the White House? What is this, Russia!?!?!?
We just got rid of him after eight years. :twisted:

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 4:54 pm
by VAdame
ghostjmf wrote:Marley says:
Is it possible they might, you know, change their mind?
They might. Its even more possible their dad might change their minds for them.

I read another interview where he talked about how the girls want little small fluffy dogs, whereas he likes what he himself called "big manly-man dogs". Whatever the heck that means. If a bunch of men who love little small fluffy dogs but consider themselves manly men had read that, who knows what the outcome of the election might have been.

Except I guess manly men, even those manly men who like little small fluffy dogs, don't go much in for reading interviews about picking out dogs for a couple of girls.

At any rate, Portuguese Water Dogs are definitely fluffy. In their own way.
Franco Harris (a big manly-man :D ) has a couple of small fluffy white dogs -- at least the last time we saw him, he was walking them. One was a little poodle; the other might have been a bichon or a shih tsu. It was a few years ago.

This Portuguese Water Dog looks pretty white. Fluffy too! Snowball would be appropriate.
Image

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 5:07 pm
by Evil Squirrel
VAdame wrote:This Portuguese Water Dog looks pretty white. Fluffy too! Snowball would be appropriate.
Image

That poor thing wouldn't even see the apple I was throwing at it!

I'm sure most people would rather have an adorable squirrel as a pet rather than that tangled mess.....

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 6:00 pm
by ghostjmf
Re VAdame's white P. Water Dog:

Like I said, they are rare, but they are there.

Re: First Dog chosen

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 6:54 pm
by MarleysGh0st
Hold on, the votes aren't all in yet!

ABC World News reported that the Portuguese Water Dog was only Michelle's choice, but there are four votes in the family. So there's still time for some Lhasa Apso and Labradoodle lobbying! :mrgreen:

But really now, did they have to get a quote from the Fonz on the broadcast, supporting the Labradoodle cause? :roll: