Posted on 04/23/2012 5:30:54 AM PDT by IbJensen
Bo the Portuguese water dog is cute, fluffy, and has done well growing up in the White House limelight.
But he also represents a broken campaign promise.
President Obama promised author Jana Kohl, who had been lobbying on Capitol Hill to end puppy mills, that he would adopt a dog. He even posed with her three-legged poodle rescued from an abusive breeder in a photo that was carried on the cover of American Dog magazine.
In October 2008, Michelle Obama told Entertainment Tonight that her family would be adopting a shelter dog after the election. The news was welcomed by groups that had been trying to persuade the Obamas to opt for a rescue dog after he’d mentioned they might get a goldendoodle because they’re hypoallergenic.
“Senator, no one needs to tell you that this country is proud to be a melting pot, and that there is something deeply wrong and elitist about wanting only a purebred dog,” PETA wrote Obama at the time. “Millions of Great American Mutts—the dog that should be our national dog—are set to die in our nation’s extremely overcrowded pounds and shelters for lack of good homes. Compassionate people nationwide are choosing to adopt a homeless pound puppy—a grateful refugee from a society that has not always treated the true ‘underdog’ kindly—rather than cater to special interests who do not have dogs’ interests at heart.”
The Best Friends Animal Society gathered more than 50,000 petition signatures urging the Obamas to adopt instead of buying or acquiring one from a breeder.
So shortly before the election, Michelle Obama made that vow — they would get a rescue dog.
“We hope that the Obama family really listened to our message, and we hope that Barack, Michelle, and their daughters find a loving mutt who needs a good home,” PETA responded.
Well… they didn’t get the message. Instead, they got a purebred “gift” from Uncle Teddy.
Sen. Kennedy gave the Obamas a six-month-old littermate of one of his own Portuguese water dogs. Bo had originally gone to another family but was returned to the breeder after not getting along with other dogs in the home. Not exactly a “rescue” dog.
“This is a missed opportunity to set a pet-adoption trend among Americans,” said Abbie Moore, executive director of Adopt-a-Pet.com, at the time. “With pet relinquishment up 20 to 30 percent due to the poor economy, pets in shelters can use all the help they can get.”
The Obamas felt that they could stem the disappointment over a campaign promise not met by donating to the Humane Society. Suddenly, with some new cash in pocket, the HSUS was willing to forgive Obama for taking in a “second-chance” breeder dog that had gone right back to the breeder after the first chance didn’t pan out. They called it a “gray area.”
But the Obamas aren’t the only ones on the ticket to renege on an adoption promise. Vice President Joe Biden angered shelter advocates when he got Chance, a German Shepherd puppy from a breeder whose kennel license was later revoked for dozens of violations, and promised that he would get a second dog from a shelter. So far, there’s been no second dog, just a brag from Biden in 2009 that his pooch is smarter than Bo.
“I’ve had German Shepherds since I was a kid and I’ve actually trained them and shown them in the past. So I wanted a German Shepherd, and we’re going to get a pound dog, which my wife wants, who is hopefully a Golden [Retriever],” Biden told George Stephanopoulos in December 2008.
Fifty-six percent of dogs and 71 percent of cats who end up in shelters are euthanized.
About a third of dogs in shelters are purebreds (I should know — I found my Chihuahua, Chi-Chi, sitting on my desk as I type this, nearly a year ago at a county pound where she’d been left after being used for breeding). Mutts are just as important and loveable.
The dog story leads me a different direction. Our leftie comrades are sending up trial balloons in kicking off one of their typical personal smear campaigns. They go with the dog story and it backfires. They next try a polygamy smear and it also backfires. Notice neither Obama’s dog eating or family history of bigamy/polygamy were issues in the 2008 election. That’s the difference between them and us. Expect the worst in dirty politics from the Obama Chicago political machine – Axelrod specializes in this.
This is just another group of people who were suckered by Obama’s promises and are only now realizing the man is an elitist of the first order.
Obama has probably adopted many dogs.
And ate them.
Hallmark of a dictator. Only the best for him, but we peasants can adopt a shelter animal if we wish.
Too bad. Would have been great for his image if he had adopted a shelter dog. Now he looks like the elitists he condemns.
Not that the media would discredit Der Fuehrer in any way. They will protect his image at all cost.
This story totally ignores the real issue.
The dog in the White House is merely for show. Just Theater.
A dog lover would have already had a dog to bring to the White House with them.This dog is merely something for the White House staff to have to take care of until Obama needs it again for a photo-op.
mmmm mmmm mmmm tasty dog drumbstick.
Too bad their strategies don’t work, most of America is on to Obama and his minions, it’s funny to watch them try so desperately and fail so miserably, makes me smile.
I prefer rough collies and German shepherds, but would consider other breeds such as golden retriever, Australian shepherd, border collie, Shetland sheepdog, etc.
BTW< there are rescue groups out there for possibly every breed there is. I might consider one of those.
Then again, I might go to the pound someday and find an appealing dog, purebred or not. But where I am there are lots of purebred dogs of certain breeds in the pound: German shepherds, pit bulls (would not even consider having one of them), Chihuahuas, and some others, besides the usual mongrels.
I have cats, so I'd have to find a dog who could be trained to get along with cats.
All elitists say this. And all members of animal shelters, rescue groups and humane societies know that they say this whenever they bring a purebred dog into the home. The first words out of their mouths are, “The next dog we get will be from a shelter”... and they never get a second dog. The animal groups exploit the sound bites as they escape the mouths of the elites. It’s a game that never ends because both sides know how it is played in the media.
Michelle, and their daughters find a loving mutt who needs a good home,...They got one already, for Pete’s sake.
Muslims find dogs ‘distasteful’.
I don’t object to purebreds either. I was just saying it would have been good for his image as a man if the people if he had. Just one more proof that he’s a lying scumbag elitist mooch.
He didn’t even BUY the dog.
Just like everything in his life, it was given to him.
True. And if he had to actually adopt a dog, he would have found some way to get the taxpayers to pay for it.
Kennedy Endorses Water Dog For Obama Family
WBZTV.Com ^ | January 13, 2009
Senator Ted Kennedy made an important political endorsement Tuesday [January 2009]. Massachusetts' Senior Senator endorsed the Portuguese water dog as the perfect pet for the nation's new first family.
[snip]
"A Portuguese water dog is the perfect choice for first dog," Kennedy said in a written statement. "The Obama girls -- and their parents -- will love a Portuguese water dog. They're loyal, smart, loving and they became a real part of the family. And they definitely do not shed."
Senator Kennedy and wife Vicki have three Portuguese water dogs of their own. Sunny and Splash often accompany Kennedy to the Senate. "They love being around people and being part of the action," he said.
The Kennedy's just added a third Portuguese water dog to the family, a puppy named Captain Courageous – or 'Cappy' for short. ..."
Senator Ted Kennedy's
Portuguese Water Dog puppy,
"Captain Courageous".
http://wbztv.com/watercooler/obama.family.dog.2.906743.html
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"The black-and-white puppy is a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy"
Barack Obama's family pick first puppy, a Portuguese water dog named Bo
April 12, 2009
"file picture of a Portuguese water dog, the breed Barack Obama's family has picked as the first puppy"
THE family of US president Barack Obama have chosen a Portuguese water dog to be the first pet.
In what was one of the White House's most tightly kept secrets, the Washington Post revealed Mr Obama's daughters, 10-year-old Malia and seven-year-old Sasha, have settled on a pup named Bo.
The Post published photos of the presidential puppy meeting Mr Obama's family. See the photos here.
The black-and-white puppy is a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy. Bo is scheduled to make his big debut to the American public early next week.
Mr Obama's daughters chose the name Bo because first lady Michelle Obama's father was nicknamed Diddley, the newspaper reported.
White House aides told The Associated Press that the office of the first lady arranged an exclusive deal on the dog story with the Post.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,25324305-38198,00.html?from=public_rss
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Ted "Water Dog" Kennedy...
Chappaquiddick:
"On Friday night July 18, 1969 around midnight a married man, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, was driving his oldsmobile on the island of Chappaquiddick with a single woman named Mary Jo Kopechne aboard when he, allegedly drunk, drove the car off a bridge and into a pond. He was leaving a party attended only by five married men and six unmarried women. Kennedy escaped the car and swam to shore. Mary Jo Kopechne was not quite so lucky. She died in the car, in the water.
Kennedy failed to even contact the police for a full nine hours, after he was told the car and body had been found.
The Kennedy family chartered a plane to immediately fly the victim's body to her hometown, Wilkes-Barre. No autopsy was conducted.
http://www.politicaldogs.org/2005/09/moral-compass.htm
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Kennedy 'joked about Chappaquiddick'
Biographer reveals deadly incident was a 'favorite topic of humor'
August 28, 2009
"Edward Klein, speaking to WAMU guest host Katty Kay, said one of Kennedy's 'favorite topics of humor was, indeed, Chappaquiddick.'
"He would ask people, 'Have you heard any new jokes about Chappaquiddick?' said Klein, a former Newsweek foreign editor and former editor in chief of the New York Times Magazine."
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=108256
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YouTube video: Kennedy liked to joke about Chappaquiddick?
"This isn't an accusation from Ted Kennedy's political opponents, but a nostalgic remembrance by one of his friends. Ed Klein, former Newsweek editor, tells the Diane Rehm Show:
"I dont know if you know this or not, but one of his favorite topics of humor was indeed Chappaquiddick itself. And he would ask people, have you heard any new jokes about Chappaquiddick? That is just the most amazing thing. Its not that he didnt feel remorse about the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, but that he still always saw the other side of everything and the ridiculous side of things, too."
But she just couldn't find one that didn't clash with her lovely wardrobe.
Where is that damn dog? I never see him in photos any more than I see his two kids. Personally, I think all 3 are back in Potemkin Village.
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