I hope by now many of you have seen the photos of Bo, our nation's First Pup, posted on the White House blog. Truly a cute and energetic addition to the thriving Obama household.
Turns out that young Bo has ties that lead right here to DOT and a similarly energetic but more mature Portugese Water Dog named Pooka, owned by DOT's own Janet Forsgren.
Follow me if you can: Bo was born of Penny, who lives on Martha and Art Stern's farm. Penny was born of Pooka, who also was bred by the Sterns until Penny herself was of breeding age. At that point, Pooka, Bo's maternal grandmother, came to live with Janet.
Yet another example of the strong ties between this agency and the White House.
Janet tells me that 9-year-old Pooka is a loyal dog and great companion with "the waggingest tail east of the Mississippi." Apparently Janet's parents, George and Jane Rice of Williamsburg, have made a habit of taking her Portugese Water Dogs home with them when they visit, and they are now taking care of Pooka and Janet's first PWD, Cosmos. If you know them, please don't tell them that Janet now has a 3rd PWD named Taylor, also from the Stern farm.
In fact, when word first hit the streets that President Obama was looking for a hypo-allergenic family dog, Janet's dad, George Rice, suggested to Janet that she call the Sterns and have them tell Senator Kennedy to recommend to the Obamas a PWD from their farm. She hesitated, but the Kennedys were already out in front of the idea. Bo is indeed a gift from the Senator.
No matter whose idea, we at DOT welcome Bo to the Administration and wish the Obamas all the pleasure and warmth a dog can bring to a home. Bo (courtesy of Pete Souza and White House Blog)
Congratulations Janet! What a fun story.
Isn't it funny ... Washington DC is beginning to sound like a familiar, friendly sort of town. A place where ordinary families can thrive and grow.
Posted by: Barbara | April 14, 2009 at 07:38 PM
Gorgeous dog and great to add some bark the Whitehouse.
Posted by: Will | April 14, 2009 at 11:30 PM
Gorgeous dog
Posted by: Bolts | April 15, 2009 at 08:57 PM
Very Cute Puppy
Posted by: james | June 12, 2009 at 06:38 PM
Wow Pooka is really sweet!
Posted by: Laura | June 18, 2009 at 01:57 PM
That's a gorgeous dog.
Posted by: Michael Melen | July 04, 2009 at 06:05 PM
Aww. That dog is so cute. :)
Posted by: Omer | July 13, 2009 at 04:57 PM
Talk about a well groomed dog
Posted by: Chris | July 22, 2009 at 01:20 AM
I love the Hawaiian flower garland its so vibrant and cute.
Posted by: Suzanne | July 24, 2009 at 04:26 AM
I always loved dogs from my childhood and here bo is extraordinary. I wish i had it as my pet.
Posted by: Medost Nepali | August 18, 2009 at 10:43 AM
Gorgeous dog and great to add some bark the Whitehouse. I love dog because it is very intelligent and nice animal. I love it so much. I have two dog both are so nice . I take care of both.
Posted by: Acai | August 20, 2009 at 06:46 AM
I like Janet's story! Its a funny one! Well I like trained puppies and doing the jobs for what they are trained for.
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Posted by: P Design | August 30, 2009 at 04:56 AM
Gorgeous dog..
I think dog is the most faithful living to man, they are loyal too...
Posted by: Anis Maharjan | September 01, 2009 at 04:01 AM
Beautiful dog.
Posted by: Henry | October 27, 2009 at 08:33 PM
I thought that the choice for the White House Dog was an interesting one. It did make sense the Ted Kennedy put a little pressure on the Obama's to choose this breed of dog.
It really is a beautiful dog. I wonder if the kids spend a lot of time with their dog. I know that my kids would just love to have this dog.
I think that the Obama's are very Lucky. Good luck with your new house pet.
Posted by: Mike Stronghill | February 01, 2010 at 06:56 PM
wow, this looks exactly like the dog I had when I was a kid. Very beautiful dogs. Bring back a lot of memories.
Posted by: Bill Millerton | February 02, 2010 at 01:22 AM
Doh! I made the mistake of having this page up when my son walked in. Now he is begging me for a black dog!
I blame you Janet! ;-)
Posted by: Alan | February 16, 2010 at 11:47 AM
Great dog! I would get one for myself, but I have only so much room left in the house. Something would have to go outside, and it would probably be me, LOL!
Posted by: Dashiki | February 18, 2010 at 02:22 PM
I don't get this with the dogs for white house. Why should every presindent should have a white house dog???
Any way...nice photos, especialy the last one!
Posted by: Rares | May 22, 2010 at 03:29 AM
Prior to the news about this dog becoming the new Whitehouse dog, i had never seen or heard of this type of breed before.
I have to admit that it is a beautiful looking dog, does anybody have any ideas about how much a dog like this would cost?
Posted by: Caroline | May 28, 2010 at 01:04 PM
Absolutely beautiful dog!
Posted by: Linda W. - Shakeology | June 03, 2010 at 01:43 PM
I'm sure we're not the only ones to go out and get a Portugese Water Dog as a result of this. We love our Rah Rah - great dogs
Posted by: McAllen Autos | July 07, 2010 at 01:23 PM
I wonder how Bo is doing these days. It has been a while since the Obamas got him
Posted by: Jeff | July 12, 2010 at 07:02 AM
Prior to the news about this dog becoming the new Whitehouse dog, i had never seen or heard of this type of breed before.
Posted by: Get Abs | July 22, 2010 at 02:13 PM
Great to see more dogs in government. I think Bush really received a bump in ratings from his dog, and I think other officials can receive similar benefits. Anywho...dogs are good regardless!
Posted by: Jordan | July 27, 2010 at 10:30 PM