First Pooch

[SteveLaura 0]

US President-elect Barack Obama is still working on the make-up of his cabinet. A far more important decision - for his daughters at least - will be choosing the puppy that accompanies the new First Family to the White House...

Now the question is, what kind of pooch will be the next to join a long and illustrious line of White House pets?

Michelle Obama has been quoted as saying she would like a rescue dog - which would certainly be a story of canine rags to riches.

Reports suggest that because daughter Malia has allergies, the Obamas may be considering a "hypoallergenic" breed that sheds less hair.

Options could include a labradoodle - a cross between a Labrador and a poodle - a schnoodle (schnauzer and poodle), or a cockapoo (cocker spaniel and poodle).

Malia, however, is rumoured to favour a goldendoodle - a poodle crossed with a golden retriever...

But Tamar Geller, a California-based celebrity dog "life coach" who trained Oprah Winfrey's puppies, is confident the Obamas will choose a rescue dog.

She says staff at her shelter programme, Another Chance For Love, are already in talks with people in the Obama camp about a goldendoodle that needs a home.

"He is a gorgeous dog," she told the BBC News website. "He is white with some golden highlights, as if he went to the hairdresser, a really happy smile, sweet but not hyper.

"I think he is going to make a perfect First Dog but we will see - the family has to make the decision."

The priority, she says, is that the pet the Obamas pick is comfortable with children and impeccably behaved at all times, particularly with visitors.

"Can you imagine the dog jumping on Putin, or lifting his leg and peeing on the curtains, or nipping at Gordon Brown?" she says.

"We don't want that to happen, so the dog has to be very well mannered.

"We need to make sure that the dog is not afraid of loud noises because he may hear loud arguments in the Oval Office, and he mustn't be afraid of people with beards and turbans and so on because he is going to meet a lot of foreign dignitaries." ...

Some previous presidential pets have been more exotic.

Herbert Hoover (or his son, at least) owned two alligators that were sometimes allowed to roam round the White House.

George Washington was devoted to his war horse, called Nelson, and Martin Van Buren had two tiger cubs.

According to the White House website, Thomas Jefferson kept a mockingbird, Calvin Coolidge had a pet raccoon called Rebecca and Benjamin Harrison owned a goat called His Whiskers that pulled his grandchildren round the White House lawn in a cart.

The sons of Theodore Roosevelt took their pony up in a White House lift to visit their sick brother in bed and Caroline Kennedy also had a pony, called Macaroni, that she rode across the grounds...

Once the Obamas have chosen their puppy, the next challenge for the 44th First Family will be picking a suitable name.

Some internet First Pet-watchers are already bandying about such monikers as Lipstick or Palin, if it is a pit bull terrier, or perhaps Maverick if the Obamas opt for an older rescue dog...

In the end, whatever name the Obamas plump for, Ms Geller says, she wants to see a crossbreed rather than a commercially-bred pedigree pup as top dog.

"It would be really great to get a goldendoodle in the White House. It would be another first."

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[Saddle Bronc 124]

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[SteveLaura 0]

[SteveLaura 0]

Well then.

[almaty 19]

damn

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