The election is finally over! I have been obsessed—obsessed with every single thing about it. I have spent too many hours online on message boards, blogs, political Web sites, etc.What now? At the President-elect's first press conference, the topic of the puppy that was promised to the Obama girls came up. This is now the big thing in the news ( well, other than the always amusing Palin and her clothing ) . When Topo first got wind of the news that two young girls wanted a puppy, she packed her bags with thoughts of lots of dropped food coming her way. I had to break the news to her that one of the girls has allergies and that her excessive fur would not be flying in the White House. Bowie thought the idea of all that room to run was appealing, but since he'd have to leave his moms, staying put was an easy decision for this mama's boy. So the search for the perfect First Pup continues.
Months ago, when the puppy was first promised, the folks at Best Friends Animal Society snapped into action and began a petition to convince the Obamas to adopt a shelter dog. Michelle Obama agreed while appearing on an entertainment program. But more recently the rumors of adopting a Labradoodle started floating around. NO! I thought, not a fake, designer breed. Say it isn't so! The President-elect stated that they would prefer to adopt a shelter dog, but with Malia's allergies they may have to get a purebred dog. I am hoping that someone tells him that is still an option! There are many breed-specific rescue groups that I am certain would be thrilled to help the family find a suitable dog, and even a mixed-breed, hypoallergenic dog can be found at a shelter. An easy place to start a search is at www.petfinder.com .
With all the decisions that President-elect Obama ( and, oh, I do love typing those words ) will have to face in office, I know that to many people this is trivial, but by adopting a shelter dog he would not only be giving one homeless dog a home but, by example, he could possibly be saving millions of other homeless dogs in this country. All the shelters and rescue groups in this country work tirelessly on shoe string budgets. You just can't buy the kind of publicity this would bring for all kinds of animal rescue.
