It may not be as momentous as his promises to end the Iraq war or cut taxes for 95 percent of American families , but President Barack Obama's pledge to buy his daughters a puppy has spawned intrigue (the dog's identity was disclosed by a mysterious Web site ), lobbying (a Washington Labradoodle owner launched "Labradoodles for Obama" ) and controversy (a PolitiFact reader wrote us recently to consider this a broken promise because, two months into his presidency, Obama still hadn't delivered the dog).
But Obama has fulfilled the promise. The White House announced Sunday that the Obamas are adopting Bo, a 6-month-old Portuguese water dog.
The dog is a gift from Sen. Ted Kennedy, a Portie owner, which means that Bo comes, in the words of Howard Dean, from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party. According to exhaustive reporting by the Washington Post, we also know details of the dog's conception , such as the fact that the kennel owner sipped a Budweiser while Bo's parents mated.
Originally named Amigo's New Hope, the dog was adopted by a woman in Washington who named him Charlie. But he didn't get along with her older Portie, so the woman returned him. At that point, Kennedy's wife Victoria, who had gotten another puppy from the litter, suggested he would be perfect for the Obama girls. They named him Bo because their cousins have a cat by the same name and Michelle Obama's father was nicknamed Diddley.
Bo's adoption was announced on April 12, 2009, but he won't arrive at the White House for another day or two. He first must complete his education — not at Harvard like so many Obama appointees, but at the Merit Puppy Training in Hume, Va. The academy's Web site says it uses "shaping and luring techniques combined with behavior modification" to teach dogs " basic manners."
The Web site says, "It is far easier to train them now rather than try to cure behavior problems later on."