Obama's Pick First Dog! (Almost)

Okay, they've at least narrowed the field down to two--either a Labradoodle or a Portuguese Water Dog:
http://news.aol.com/main/obama-presidency/article/obama-dog-choice-down-to-2-breeds/301532

To quote the President-Elect:
"They [presumably his daughters] seem to have narrowed it down to a labradoodle or a Portuguese water hound … [a] medium-sized dog, so we're now going to start looking at shelters to see when one of those dogs might come up," Barack Obama told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on 'This Week.'

What did Mistress Chilli tell you...one of her predictions is that they were going to stick with the Labradoodle (as one of their daughters has requested waay back). She also predicted it will be a 'rescue' Labradoodle if at all possible. (See previous blog posts.) You can bet your bones that shelters across the nation/rescue groups and breeders have sounded the alarm, diving under every rock and crevice looking for a Labradoodle puppy that will be ready to live with the Obamas', oh, probably within the next two months, or on the lookout for one that 'just happens' to come in the door. And then when they do come in the door put him or her in luxury lock-down marked "OBAMAS ONLY."

Mistress Chilli now makes another prediction: the adoption will not be before January 20th, lest the thunder be stolen from the Inauguration, but she does predict it will be within the next two months (so, let's say, by mid-March.) But you never know--in his acceptance speech he did say "...you have earned the new puppy that will be coming with us to the White House" so that *could* mean they're getting it right before they move in (probably not right now--they're living in a hotel, last we heard, and it is a bit of a chaotic time.) Then again, because it's such a chaotic time the Obamas might feel the girls really should get a puppy to be a friend for them as soon as they move in to the White House.

The other interesting possible choice was a Portuguese Water Dog--interesting! I've seen a few around New York and they do seem to be very, very handsome animals, good size, nice personality (again, the ones I met.) The AKC did list them among 'hypoallergenic' breeds (as is the Labradoodle) but honestly every vet I've ever met says there ain't no such thing as a 'hypoallergenic' breed in the truest sense of the word, although there are ones that shed less and/or produce less dander which may be a good choice for allergy sufferers. I had to laugh when I saw one of the ways the AKC described the Portuguese Water Dog:
1. Temperament--Shy, vicious, or unsound behavior.
2. Head--Unimpressive; small in overall size; narrow in topskull; snipey in muzzle.

Wow! Now THIS is a dog that will fit right in among the politicians in Washington! Hey, if that's the type of pet they wanted, why not just let Curious George stay there?) Okay, let me let up on Bush a little bit--they do seem to love their dogs, and indeed their mystery cat, India, died recently, so they do seem to like animals.

Now, let's see how the Obama's pull off getting a Labradoodle or a Portuguese Water Dog puppy from a rescue. Because you know it's going to be a puppy. Most rescues have older dogs available, but puppies are harder to come by unless there's a raid on a puppy mill. And it does happen--for example, just recently in Canada 50 Labradoodle puppies were rescued:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/50_dogs_rescued_from_breeder.html
Canada--if you wanted to improve relations with the U.S., now would be a good time to make a 'gift' to the Obama girls...
And there are of course 'doodle rescues and water dog rescues, so in case Obama reads my blog:

Doodle Rescues and Rehomes
http://disc.yourwebapps.com/Indices/213827.html

Portuguese Water Dog Club of America
http://www.pwdca.org/breed/rescue/
(By the way, Portugal--now would be a good time to make a 'welcoming gift' of a you-know-what, so long as it is a rescue.)

Mistress Chilli also found it amusing that the AKC, one of the first to jump on the Obama dog bandwagon, said this in a press release as soon as our President Elect made the statement:
"While the AKC does not recognize the Labradoodle (considered a mixed breed), over 42,000 voters on the organization’s web site chose a Poodle as the ideal dog for the Obamas in a poll conducted this summer."

A Labradoodle is, of course, a cross between a Labrador and a Poodle (usually a Standard poodle, I think--the big ones.) So you see how the AKC is REALLY trying to say, see! see! Our poll picked a poodle! Okay, we don't recognize Labradoodles as real dogs, but they are part Poodle, and our poll said Poodle, so we won!

They also plucked from their website's description of the Portuguese Water Dog it's finer qualities and left out the stuff about the 'unsound behavior' and so forth. They continue:
The AKC breed standard for the Portuguese Water Dog describes it as “an animal of spirited disposition, self-willed, brave, and very resistant to fatigue. A dog of exceptional intelligence and a loyal companion.”

Mistress Chilli does hope it's a rescue dog--whether from a shelter or a breed rescue. In either case, this would be great. All of the cats, dogs and other creatures that end up in the shelters (in my opinion) are all special (or have the potential to be) but if the Obamas get a rescued purebred dog (and somehow Mistress Chilli suspects the Obamas will jump to the top of the waiting list for a rescued 'doodle or water dog) it will demonstrate to people that there are purebred dogs to be found in the shelter system or through rescues. Granted, some of them (many of them) are older and often have extensive medical or psychological problems, but many people don't even know breeds end up in shelters, and even less are aware of breed rescue groups. So either way, she thinks this is a good thing.

We'll keep you posted.

Listen to Mistress Chilli.