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Comments

• [1] Connie from Westchester April 14, 2009 - 11:45AM

  I got my dog at "Adopt-a-Dog" (www.Adopt-A-Dog.org) in Greenwich, CT. She is a beautiful pure-bred cocker spaniel. They are a terrific organization which helps place dogs (and cats, too) who need good homes. I also adopted another fine puppy from them who was with us for 15 years! I believe strongly in trying to help save the animals by adopting them, if possible. However, I know that there are people who prefer to go through breeders, which is fine. However, I am very conflicted about the care pets get in retail pet shops. I have also gotten a cats from ROAR, a shelter in Ridgefield, CT. The Obama's dog looks adorable! I just hope it doesn't spark a "glut" of Portuguese Water Dogs being bred and sold like the "latest fad".

  
  
• [2] Diane Podolsky, CPDT, CTC from White Plains, New York April 14, 2009 - 11:50AM

  Early puppy training including teaching bite inhibition by 18 weeks of age and socialization by 14 weeks are the most important things for the Obamas to take care of right now, no matter what dog they selected.

  Selecting a purebred dog is a fine thing, so long as they chose a responsible breeder.

  Choosing a shelter puppy would have been fine but it must be understood that the Obamas needed a dog to accomodate their daughter's allergies. To fail to understand this is, in my opinion, not fair.

  Pet rescue would have been an option but often puppies are not available, even for the Obamas.

  
  
• [3] Emily from Harlem April 14, 2009 - 11:50AM

  The Obamas got their dog from a family who could no longer take care of him anymore. So no, he wasn't a shelter dog, but perhaps that family would have put him a shelter had the Obamas not taken him.

  
  
• [4] Ginger April 14, 2009 - 11:51AM

  What happenned to the breeder who gave Joe Biden his dog? I mean she was sent much hate mail by Peta types and the State of pennsylvania has been harrassing her. She says never again in terms of celebrity dog sales.

  
  
• [5] Merrill from New York, NY April 14, 2009 - 11:51AM

  Maybe Betsy Jobs (Kirsten Dunst) of "Dick" film fame could be Bo's dog walker.

  
  
• [6] andy from bkln April 14, 2009 - 11:52AM

  does the same distinction (shelter vs breeder)apply to cats?

  
  
• [7] See from NJ April 14, 2009 - 11:54AM

  Cut them a break.

  We have a rescue dog and we love him, but it's clear he had been abused and it took him almost a year to relax (and to stop peeing on the carpet). We're a household of quiet adults which is lucky because he remains terrified of children.

  
  
• [8] Steve Swendeman from The Hospital for Special Surgery April 14, 2009 - 11:54AM

  The speaker has a huge bias and has her own agenda. The Preseident stated that his daughter is ALLERGIC to dogs. Getting a shelter dog is a high risk...if they get a dog and then she is allergic they have to get rid of it and that is a disaster. It is their personal issue. Stop pontificating with your bias. They did NOT make a mistake. That is what you said.

  
  
• [9] Jessie from Brooklyn April 14, 2009 - 11:55AM

  How do you temper test a dog in a shelter? When I was growing up my family rescued a dog from the pound. He seemed very sweet and calm in the pound but when we brought him home we realized he was very nervous and could be very aggressive, especially towards men. Are there things/signs to look out for when you are looking for dogs in the shelter?

  
  
• [10] kbinps from park slope April 14, 2009 - 11:59AM

  Strident.

  
  
• [11] Dee from Jupiter April 14, 2009 - 12:00PM

  Stacy stop being so judgmental. Let the Obama's be.

  
  
• [12] Nico from Crown Heights April 14, 2009 - 12:00PM

  Is this lady for real? The dog was a gift. What are you going to say..."sorry, you're dying of brain cancer, but no, I can't accept this gift." Please.

  I'm complete EVANGELICAL about rescuing pets, I have a rescue (who has cost us thousands of dollars in health problems), he is the LOVE of my LIFE, but this is the PRESIDENT.

  Give him a BREAK for crying out loud...I'd rather he get a purebred and save the economy, than go to shelters and pick out a dog. Geesh.

  
  
• [13] anonniemuss from NYC April 14, 2009 - 12:00PM

  I agree that the Obama families choice sends a message (whether they intend it to or not) but I also think it is very important to recognize that the choice of what type of pet to get and where to get it from is an extremely personal one for all families. I grew up with my mom often coming home with shelter dogs (some of which we kept, some of which she later placed with other family members) and a great many of them had really intense behavioral issues that she absolutely did not have the training skills to manage effectively. Likewise, I walk my own dog (who came from a responsible breeder - they DO exist) in my neighborhood every single day, and every single day I encounter people who have shelter dogs that are wearing muzzles or choke collars (because the person is not willing or able to work with the animal in any other way) or they are snapping and barking because they have endured a lifetime of terror. If people who adopt animals like this (i.e., without being able to give them the effort and attention they need) cannot be convinced that they maybe aren't ready for a pet, then I don't think it is doing either them or the shelter dogs any favor to urge them to go ahead and adopt one anyhow. I would much rather see people who care about animals put their efforts into stopping irresponsible breeding, and into building and sustaining no-kill shelters where trained professionals can work with animals who need them.

  
  
• [14] Tom in FL April 14, 2009 - 12:00PM

  I agree with #8 - this speaker has a huge bias and agenda.

  I can't believe airtime is being wasted on this. Let the Obama's enjoy their dog - regardless of what type it is or from where they got it.

  
  
• [15] NG from Brooklyn April 14, 2009 - 12:01PM

  Stacy, it seem you are unhappy and negative about the Obama's selection. I think we all should be happy for the girls, they finally got their wish. I'm very happy for them. :-)

  
  
• [16] anonniemuss from NYC April 14, 2009 - 12:01PM

  (I meant "family's choice," sorry).

  
  
• [17] Meg from Stamford, CT April 14, 2009 - 12:09PM

  I have my second "rescue" dog and would never go back to a pedigreed pup. As a caller said, there are always issues (kids, dogs, husbands and wives, right?) they are simply different issues with a shelter dog. My neighbors all have "designer dogs" and none of them is perfect. All beings have issues and I have found none of our rescue dogs to have issues that are more difficult or contentious than any of the designer dogs!

  
  
• [18] Connie from Westchester April 14, 2009 - 12:09PM

  I assume one can go to a breeder for cats,as well.

  Also, I forgot to mention that people should really get their pets neutered so they won't reproduce offspring (unless one is a breeder, of course).

  
  
• [19] Mike Licht from Washington DC April 14, 2009 - 01:01PM

  Do Portuguese Water Dogs eat linguiça?

  See

  http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/04/12/bo-obama-first-dog/

  
  
• [20] fancy-socks from Manhattan April 14, 2009 - 01:09PM

  I think the guest was very fair, she said to cut the Obama's a break, and I agree with her that it's scary to think how many Portuguese Water Dogs are going to spring up now all over. I walk my shelter rescue mutt in my neighborhood every day and the two most out of control dogs we encounter are pure bred: a long haired dachshund that jumps out of his skin lunging and barking at kids and two Sharpeis that are quite viscous-seeming to all the dogs they pass including mine. Not all dogs are easy!

  
  
• [21] Josh from Red Hook April 14, 2009 - 01:30PM

  Yet another in a string of HUGE missed opportunities for this President. The Obamas should be ashamed of themselves. The animal welfare community, such as it is, was overjoyed to learn of the possibility of a shelter adoption and the amazing press coverage and boost in awareness that it might have brought. Now, I wish that the shelter option had never even been broached by Obama, because it looks as though he chose NOT to go that route, implying to Joe Q. Public that there is something wrong about shelter adoption and that it is "not for everybody." Well, pet "ownership" is not for everybody, and that is precisely the reason that cats and dogs (and rabbits and snakes and on and on) live lives of misery and abuse the world over, on city streets and in underfunded shelters. My "hope" has been dashed that Obama might have the courage to just once - just take one five minute stretch of a press conference - to say that puppy mills and kitten mills should be regulated, that there should be a national mandatory spay and neuter law, that pet stores should be banned in large cities (where the shelters euthanize MILLIONS of unwanted pets a year), that there should be some sort of vetting process to buy an animal from a store or breeder, and that we treat these animals with the love we claim to have for them! But no. Instead, Obama gets a purebreed and pretends that it was "unwanted." What an insult to our intelligence and to the shelter dogs of the D.C. area who are being euthanized at this very moment. Many thanks to Mario Murillo for this segment and for not treating it sarcastically and humorously as most host would.

  
  
• [22] a. hammagaadji April 14, 2009 - 02:19PM

  If the president sneezed, Obama haters will find a reason to criticise. What's wrong with you people? It's a personal choice for God's sake! Get a grip! and get a life.

  
  
• [23] JP from The Garden State April 14, 2009 - 03:17PM

  Fact: Dogs are domesticated wolfs that are bread with specific genetic mutations that benefit man. Unfortunately some of these genetic mutations are not good for the dog’s well being or the mutations may cause other physical problems. That being said, there is no real responsible thoroughbred breeder in the true sense. A bulldog’s crushed face might make him look desirable to some people. But it causes the bulldog to have breathing problems. This is just one of many genetically bred problems that happens with thoroughbred breeding, no matter how responsible the breeder is.

  Mutts, pound puppies or not, have a much greater chance of having less genetic problems and living a long healthy life. The reason is that it’s less likely they will inherit bad genes due to more genetic diversity. Think if it like incest. You procreate within your family and your chances of passing bad genes in your family to your offspring are much higher. But like anything in life, nothing is guaranteed. A mutt does not guarantee a happy healthy dog. Bad genes can still be passed on and bad treatment by the owner can destroy a dog just like bad treatment can destroy a human.

  I whish Obama had gotten a mutt. I had a 60 lbs. brown dog that lasted for 14 years and he never really got sick until the last week of his life. So I was a bit disappointed that he did not go with a mutt. Think about it, instead of people running out and buying “Marley and me” dogs, they’d be running out to get mutts. But at the end of the day if you have someone in the family who has allergies, life can be hell with any kind of dog, thoroughbred or mutt. So I can completely understand the way they went. But we must now brace ourselves for brain damaged over breed unwanted Portuguese water dogs filling animal shelters all across this land.

  
  
• [24] Michael Brandow from New York City April 14, 2009 - 04:07PM

  Everyone keeps saying that choosing which dog to own is a matter of “personal choice.” That’s what they all say when you back them into a corner and they have nothing else to say. A dog is not a consumer item or a status symbol like a car or a fur coat, though everything in our culture makes it seem that way. This was most definitely not a personal choice for the Obama family. It is their job to be EXEMPLARY. They went against many opinion polls showing that Americans are sick and tired of all this snotty “purebred” nonsense about canine lineage and family trees. They even went against their own pledge to find a shelter dog. They were less concerned with matters of a dog’s health and adaptability (let me tell you, this breed is messed up) than keeping up with the Joneses (or Kennedys). It’s true, in the end Obama did take his friend Oprah’s advice and steered clear of the puppy mills. But Oprah has lily-white Golden Retrievers that most assuredly did not come second-hand and, as advertised by the color of their coats, without prohibitive price tags. It is understandable, if not excusable, that newly-rich, self-made Americans shy away from the no-name brands as soon as they can afford something a bit more impressive. They are busy scrambling for emblems of status and prestige. Obama admitted he was a “mutt” but can’t seem to break free of the social pressure to be something more.

  My question is: What does the Kennedy family have to prove to anyone when we all know they’re to-the-manor-born and don’t need fancy hunting dogs to make themselves look like English aristocrats?

  Michael Brandow, author of “New York’s Poop Scoop Law”

  
  
• [25] a. hammagaadji April 14, 2009 - 11:22PM

  Stop lying michael. The dog is 6 months old and the White House is his 4th home! All these animal lovers and animal rights people are so despicable and revolting in their self righteousness. Nobody said how happy the Obama girls are. It's all about YOUR satisfaction. You are the kind of people who will not protest an inocent black man shot in his back but will walk past him to "rescue" an animal. Your lack of humanity make you and your type ANIMALS>

  
  
• [26] june pickett from Palm city, F. April 17, 2009 - 03:11PM

  all three of my adult life dogs have been shelter dogs. My current lab mix is a therapy pet, adopted at 5mths from the shelter where I train dogs and teach training on a volunteer basis. every dog owner needs to understand the pschology of a dog and what his needs, as a dog, are.Every dog needs excercize, discipline and affection as well as mental stimulation. Most owners do not know how to accomplish this but they can and should learn. the rewards are well worhth the effort.