ohmidog!

Vice president-elect Joe Biden, who faced some heat for his decision to purchase a dog from a breeder, says his family plans to get a second dog — this one from a shelter or rescue organization.

“We’re going to have more than one puppy,” he said in on the ABC News show This Week With George Stephanopoulous.

Biden’s purchase of a 6-week-old German shepherd from a Chester County breeder Dec. 6 touched off a national debate about pet-shopping, with critics pointing to the millions of dogs euthanized in shelters each year.

Biden said his family is not getting the dog in an effort to appear politically correct, but because his wife wants it, and because his family has almost always had two dogs. Read more »

The first family-elect still hasn’t gotten a dog, but Joe Biden has picked his — a German shepherd pup from Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Vice President-elect Biden, arriving in an entourage of seven Secret Service vehicles, selected a three-month old male from a litter belonging to East Coventry breeder Linda Brown.

The purchase fulfills a campaign promise — one Jill Biden made to her husband during the presidential race. She then went on to tape pictures of different dogs on the back of the airline seat in front of Biden to inspire the candidate as he crisscrossed the country.

“He is the nicest person on this earth,” breeder Brown said about her meeting with Biden. “He was very gracious. He hugged and kissed all of the shepherds.” Read more »

Soon after President-elect Obama mentioned the possibility of choosing a shelter mutt as the First Family’s dog, Patrick McDonnell, creator of the comic strip “Mutts,” jumped on the theme, coming up with six strips supporting shelter adoptions. 

“I normally stay away from politics, but this was a perfect fit,” McDonnell wrote in an e-mail message to the New York Times.

“If the Obama household adopted a mutt,” Mr. McDonnell added, “it would make a huge statement.”

“Mutts,” distributed by King Features Syndicate, appears in more than 700 newspapers worldwide and online at muttscomics.com.

McDonnell is also the author of Shelter Stories: Love. Guaranteed, a collection of more than 100 of McDonnell’s “Shelter Stories” strips, accompanied by photos of 70 rescued animals — dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits, guinea pigs and birds.

The book also includes a reference guide with tips for adopting the right pet, and a list of useful website links. McDonnell serves on the board of directors of the Humane Society of the United States.

Barack Obama’s use of the term “girly dog” has raised the hackles (and who knows what other body parts) of a Huffington Post blogger who says it was disparaging — a threat both to his manhood and that of his dog, Manuel.

“…Clearly Mr. Obama meant “girly” in the pejorative sense, not as an adjective denoting “nice for girls,” but rather to suggest a dog that lives in conflict with its own manly nature or the manly nature of dogs in general,” wrote blogger Billy Kimball.

I can’t get too bent out of shape about the president-elect’s remark — “girly” somehow sounds less pejorative coming from Obama’s mouth than, say, an Arnold Schwarzenegger. But, in hindsight, perhaps a more politically correct term would have been “little yappy pipsqueak dog.”

Kimball’s not willing to cut the president-elect any slack in his piece, written in response to an exchange between Obama and his wife, Michelle, during an interview with Barbara Walters. When Walters suggested the First Family get a Havanese, the small breed of dog she has (and Kimball has), Obama said, “It sounds kinda like a girly dog…We’re going to have a big rambunctious dog.”

“By saying that he wanted a ‘big, rambunctious dog,’ Obama was trying to don the mantle of the ‘guy’s guy.’ “ Kimball wrote. “Big rambunctious dogs, through their genetic link to working and hunting breeds, establish one’s bona fides with the masses. Those toy breeds who don’t have to work for living probably belong to people who don’t either - or so the conventional wisdom would have it.”

Kimball gives Obama points for considering a shelter dog, but says, “making distinctions about dogs based on breed is nothing less than a form of canine racism and exactly the sort of thing many of us had hoped we were leaving behind on Nov. 3. ”

The truth is many small breeds have established themselves as some of the fiercest hunters. Kimball also misses the mark when he says Obama promised his children a dog if he won the election. Actually, he promised them one once it was over, win or lose. 

Most ludicrous, though, is Kimball’s argument that it would be irresponsible to own a large breed of dog at the White House.

“Obama is acting irresponsibly by getting a dog much larger than is practical for people in his zip code who don’t have a Rose Garden and South Lawn for it to run around on,” Kimball says.

For one thing, Obama will have a Rose Garden and a South Lawn. For another, saying big dogs shouldn’t live in the city is precisely the kind of “canine racism” Kimball seems to be accusing Obama of.

A dog’s size doesn’t define it, and it shouldn’t define us — however much some people may try to read into things.

Your little dog doesn’t mean you’re “girly,” any more than my big dog means I’m compensating for some shortcoming with my bona fides.

The Newseum in Washington, as part of its new exhibit, “First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Pets,” is letting visitors cast their votes — with money — on what kind of dog the Obamas should get.

The exhibit, which started Nov. 14 and is expected to stay open at least through January’s inauguration,  showcases some of the top dogs who have resided at the White House.

While hundreds of pets have lived at the White House — including parrots, goats, a one-legged rooster, raccoons and cats — dogs have been the most popular pet, from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Scottish terrier, Fala, to George H.W. Bush’s English springer spaniel, Millie, whose book sold more copies than Bush’s own.

Many presidents had multiple dogs, according to the Newseum. Calvin Coolidge kept 12 dogs and a pair of raccoons and John F. Kennedy, though allergic to dogs, had nine, including one that was a gift from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.

More than a few presidents brought other critters with them. President Theodore Roosevelt and his family had a one-legged rooster and a pony named Algonquin that once rode in the White House elevator. President William Howard Taft had a Jersey cow named Pauline.

“Animals have always been a part of White House life,” said Newseum exhibits chief Cathy Trost. “More than 50 dogs have lived at the White House, along with alligators, goats, raccoons, parrots, you name it.”

Visitors are casting votes for what kind of dog the Obamas should get with pennies, quarters and a few dollar bills in a small exhibit on presidential pets at the Newseum, a museum about the news. (The museum, which announced a staff reduction this week, says it will use the cash for educational programs.)

Voters can choose from the American Kennel Club’s top five recommendations for allergy-sensitive breeds — poodle, soft coated wheaten terrier, bichon frise, Chinese crested and miniature schnauzer — along with an unspecified shelter dog, as several animal welfare organizations have recommended.

So far, a shelter dog appears to be the people’s choice, followed by the bichon frise, Trost said.

Goldendoodle

Despite all the buzz about “hypoallergenic dogs” since the Obamas indicated they may get one, there are no breeds that are truly free of potential allergens, some medical experts say.

“I don’t think there is such a thing as a hypoallergenic dog,” allergy and asthma expert Corinna Bowser (really, BOWSER!) of Havertown, Pa. told WebMD.

While there are countless websites devoted to “hypoallergenic dogs,” the Obamas could find it difficult to find one to which their older daughter, Malia, won’t have an allergic reaction.

Bowser explains that the major allergen in dogs is a protein found in dog serum, and dogs excrete that allergen in sweat and shed it from their skin. “It also gets secreted into the saliva, and possibly a little bit in the urine,” Bowser says.

Since all dogs have that protein, no dog is completely allergy-free, according to Bowser.

She said a German study, published this year, tracked allergies among people exposed to various dog breeds and found that factors related to individual dogs seem to influence the “allergenicity” more than breed or gender.

Breeds commonly cited as hypoallergenic include the poodle, (and several poodle hybrids, like the goldendoodle), Bichon Frise, Maltese, Yorkshire Terrier, Portugese Water Dog, Schnauzer, West Highland Terrier, Basenji, Airedale Terrier, and our good friend, the Xoloitzcuintli.

Smaller dogs, and short-haired breeds might be less risky, Bowser said. “Hair length could have something to do with how it spreads in the house,” she said, explaining that shorter dog hairs may not stick as much as long hair to furniture, clothes, and other surfaces.

Bowser went on to say that if she was the Obama family doctor, “I would say it’s probably better not to get a dog.”

“Of course, now he made the promise and he kind of has to,” she said. Bowser recommends that before they get a dog of their own the Obama family dog-sit to see how Malia’s allergies fare, and set some rules about how they’ll handle any allergy issues.

    Now that we’ve met one of the world’s least hairy dogs, the Peruvian hairless dog, it’s time to meet the hairiest — the Komondor, a rare breed that, thanks to Kyra, a Komondor in the UK, has seen its numbers increase by nearly 25 percent.
    Known for their white fur that grows in long dreadlocks — giving them the appearance of a motorized mop — Komondors had seen their numbers in Britain drop to 40.

Kyra’s record litter of nine fluffy pups, brought it up to 49.

Read more »

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?”

Read more »

A Peruvian hairless dog – known elsewhere as a Xoloitzcuintle, or Xolo for short – is the latest pooch profferred to President-elect Obama and family.

Bald and often toothless — and unlikely to trigger allergies – the breed was popular among Incan kings and dates back 3,000 years.

On Monday, Claudia Galvez, director of the Friends of the Peruvian Hairless Dog Association, delivered a letter detailing her offer to the U.S. embassy in Lima, according to a Reuters report. She said she hopes Obama will accept it.

“They do not cause any type of allergy and are very friendly and sweet,” said Galvez.

Obama has promised daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, a new pet for the White House. But Malia is allergic to most breeds.

“We want to give a male puppy to Obama’s daughters, so they get to experience all the joys of having a dog but without any allergies.”

According to Peruvian folklore, the dogs have above-average body temperature, which compensates for their lack of hair, and their owners would sleep with them to help alleviate symptoms of asthma or arthritis.

The puppy Galvez has offered is her’s — a 4-month-old with a pedigree. She calls it “Ears.”

The breed almost went extinct in the 1940s but was saved when a group of committed Mexicans began seeking them out in remote villages.

Despite reports that they won’t get a dog until spring, the Obamas continue to be inundated by solicitations — mostly from humane societies saying “take my dog, please.”

Those include an offer from Obama’s birthplace, Hawaii, where a board member of the Hawaii Island Humane Society suggests a “poi dog,” would be a most appropriate choice — especially in light of Obama recently characterizing himself as a “mutt.”

“A poi dog is considered a mix,” said the board member, Scott Dodd.

At least 200 dogs are available for adoption on the Big Island, and many more are waiting at other Hawaiian shelters. Most of them are mixed breeds, according to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

Poi dogs — though the term has come to be used to described mixed breeds — are actually an extinct breed that came to Hawaii with Polynesians when it was settled more than 1,000 years ago.

The dogs lived among the tribes, and were taken care of by female tribe members, some of whom nursed poi puppies believing it would give them more protective instincts.

Because of their vegetarian diet, poi dogs, became fat and lazy and it was not uncommon for them to live among domesticated hogs, according to dogbreedinfo.com. Like hogs, they were sometimes eaten.

In the 19th century, other dogs began to breed with the poi and purebred poi disappeared. The Honolulu Zoo attempted to reconstruct the breed, but failed.