ohmidog!

If you are among those wondering about the news media’s preoccupation with the Obama’s dog choice — amid all the other serious problems our country is facing — join the club.

Also count among its members one Julianne Hancock, a member of the Utah Air National Guard who has served a tour of duty in Iraq. When she got back, she got a dog from a shelter, a mutt named Izzy.  

A steady job, though, was not so easy to find. After losing her civilian job in the commercial lending industry earlier this year, she was having trouble finding new work. She couldn’t afford healthcare. With few other options, she signed up for another tour of duty. She leaves in January.

“I heard Mr. Obama tell Malia and Sasha that they earned their puppy on election night,” Hancock wrote in an open letter to Obama posted on The Daily Kos. “Izzy will be looking for a family. Any interest?”

“With a heavy heart,” Hancock wrote, she weighed her options before deciding to volunteer. “Our hope is that when I return the economy will have improved and I will be able to find employment again,” she wrote. 

Hancock acknowledges that her letter wasn’t just about finding Izzy a home. Rather, she said, she wanted to bring attention back to the issues like the economy, the war and healthcare reform, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. 

Hancock says she hasn’t heard back from the Obamas; she’s still looking for a place for Izzy to stay while she’s gone.