Obama dog Bo was returned to his breeder
Did anybody wonder why the Portuguese water dog that the Obama family chose was six months old and not a younger puppy? Bo was an unwanted, returned puppy; he was lucky though. The breeder that bred Bo was a responsible breeder.
Being a responsible breeder means a lot more than just not over breeding your bitch and keeping your puppies until they are old enough. All responsible breeders should ensure that anyone purchasing a puppy signs an agreement stating that they will return the puppy to the breeder if they do not want them later in life.
The Obama family were under a lot of pressure to save a dog from a dog shelter rather than take on a commercially bred dog. However, as their daughter Malia suffers from allergies, they wanted to make sure they had a pure bred dog that would not shed hair. The media are labelling ‘Bo the Obama-dog’ a ‘quasi-rescue’ dog because he had been returned to his breeder as unwanted, but this isn’t really the case. Any responsible breeder should take back one of their own dogs if they are later unwanted and these dogs are relatively easy to rehome because the house training has usually been done already. Many people want a pure breed but don’t want the hassle of a new puppy and house training responsibilities.
Ted Kennedy reportedly had bought three Portuguese water dogs from the same breeder that bred Bo, Martha Stern from Boyd in Texas. The owner of the stud dog used for Bo’s litter, Bo’s father Watson, is owned by Craig Rader in Pennsylvania. Watson is used as a stud dog by breeder Julie Parker and Bo’s mother is called Penny, owned by Martha Stern.
Ms Parker told the Pittsburgh’s Post-Gazette:
“He’s got a lot of the qualities that make the breed identifiable — a nice broad head, a lot of bone to him, a beautiful coat. He brings a lot of things to the table for what you want to see in the next generation.”
To use Watson as a stud dog costs around $1,900 stud fee. Ted Kennedy’s new Portuguese water dog puppy, Cappy, has the same mother and father as Bo.
Bo’s dog breeder, Stern, is a responsible dog breeder and as a matter of course, requires that everyone sign an agreement saying they will return her dogs to her if they are later unwanted. For anybody considering breeding their dog, they should only do so if they are certain that there will be good homes for the puppies, are willing to take on the responsibility and look after the puppies until they can go to good homes but more importantly, accept that the dogs should come back into their care if ever they are left without a home and not a dog shelter.
