Barack Obama is president, now who will be his ‘first dog’?

This last week saw the historic moment than an African American was voted President of the United States of America for the first time, as Barack Obama defeated his Republican rival to the White House.

Now that the small matter of a black president is out of the way, Obama had to turn to the more pressing concern of which breed of dog he should select to be the ‘first dog’. Dogs have always formed an integral part of the president’s aid committee, and Barack Obama is no different.

Obama gave a speech this week, his first since being elected, and admitted that the subject of his dog was the most talked about point on his website. Forget the financial crisis, the war on terror or the troops in Iraq, what dog is Obama going to get???

Barack Obama stated that the decision on which dog he would get for his daughters, Malia and Sasha was a difficult one, which had to be decided very carefully because his ten-year-old daughter Malia was allergic. This meant that any dog they take it would have to be hypoallergenic. No dog is truly hypoallergenic, but non shedding breeds such as poodles or shih tzus would be better for them.

Obama went on to say:

Our preference is to get a shelter dog, though this might be a challenge, given that a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me.

Speculation is rife that Obama’s daughter Malia wants a goldendoodle, a cross between a golden retriever and a poodle. Obama didn’t comment on that though.

It’s unlikely that Obama would opt for a ‘designer dog’ such as that though. Some candidates for Obama and his family to consider are:

Poodles
Bichon frise
Portuguese water dogs
Maltese
Schnauzers
Westies (West Highland White Terriers)
Scottish terriers
Shih Tzu

Darren Jamieson