[philled]

Good luck finding a PWD at a shelter. They still aren’t that common. Not many breeders around. As recently as the early ‘70’s there were only about a dozen PWD’s registered in the US. They are on the comeback but they are still pretty rare as AKC breeds go.

You confirmed my suspicions... I don't think they want a dog and were setting up an unlikely scenario. I think if their first choice would have been an unclaimed Tibetan KyiApso (I googled "rarest of rare dog breeds") that was found tied to the Lincoln Monument on the first Tuesday after a full moon, would have probably been greeted with cynicism...

However, by specifying that it has to be a PWD from a shelter, they could likely go his entire unfortunate term in the White House without finding such a dog. Any word on what happens to "Splash" when Teddy's other shoe finally drops?

[Tallguy]

There are so few registered PWD breeders that the bloodlines are pretty tightly controlled. I know private breeders that cringe at the possibility of their breed becoming the presidential pooch because it immediately vaults that breed several notches in popularity. This is often to the detriment of careful breeding & can take decades to remedy.

I’d say that unless there are some shennanigans, the Obamas will not find a PWD at a shelter. I’d add that it’s also possible that it will be difficult to find a private PWD breeder that would sell one to the White House — though it only takes one.