Obamas Adopt 2nd White House Dog, Name Her Sunny.

[elleng]

Source: nyt/ap

Watch out, Bo — there's a new dog in town.

The White House says the Obamas have added a second dog to the first family. Her name is Sunny, and she's a Portuguese Water Dog — the same breed as the Obamas' other dog, Bo. The White House says that breed works well for the Obamas because of family allergies.

Sunny was born a year ago in June in Michigan and arrived at the White House Monday.

She's expected to join Bo for evening walks and the occasional Oval Office huddle with the president.

The White House says the Obamas will donate in Sunny's honor to the Washington Humane Society.

The Obamas adopted their first White House dog in April 2009, fulfilling a campaign promise to daughters Sasha and Malia.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/08/19/us/politics/ap-us-obama-new-dog.html?hp

[big_dog]

1. portrait

[elleng]

3. Good, you got it!

[msanthrope]

4. Adorable! nt

[Rhiannon12866]

17. Awwwww! What a pretty pup!

[Tarheel_Dem]

29. She's gorgeous!

[Arctic Dave]

2. Uh oh.

Bo better keep an eye out for a drone.

You know, "the one way drive out to the country".

[greatauntoftriplets]

5. She's beautiful!

[sheshe2]

6. Sweet Sunny~

Thanks elleng!

[Tx4obama]

7. VIDEO of Bo and Sunny together

Published on Aug 19, 2013

The Obama's welcomed the newest member of their family -- a little girl (puppy) named Sunny! You can learn more here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/meet-sunny

Sunny was born in Michigan in June 2012. Just like Bo, she's as Portuguese Water Dog, which works great for the Obama's because of allergies in their family.

[elleng]

8. THANKS, Tx4!

[jtuck004]

9. Why do people insist on lying about this? Bo came from a breeder, not adopted.

note to the OP - I know this is just the headline, so it's not directed at you, it's to the many dishonest writers of articles about their dogs. People in the pets forum here will most likely understand.
___________________________

Bred by Martha & Art Stern of Amigo Portuguese Water Dogs in Boyd, Texas, Bo is a son of "Watson" (CH Valkyrie Dr. Watson is Here, Born 22.April.2002, AKC WS00562102)—of the Rader family in Pittsburgh's Ambridge suburb—and "Penny", belonging to Art and Martha Stern. One of Bo's nine litter mates was Senator Ted Kennedy's dog named "Cappy" (Amigo's Captain Courageous); the litter was named "Hope and Change", in honor of Obama's victory.

And Sunny came from a breeder in Michigan.

They make donations to a humane society as if they "rescued" a dog, and nearly every story says adopted, as if they rescued them from a kennel. When you get them from breeders, it ain't adoption, and it's dishonest to try and spin it that way.

Why is everyone so defensive that they can't be honest? Or do they pay these people to write this pap?

Oh wait. Forgot I was talking politicians who, as a general rule, are more about show than substance, and may care less about animals than they do about people. So a few more of the 4-6 million unwanted and perfectly fucking good pets/friends get killed each year as people are shown that you just can't get a good enough dog at a shelter...like the dozen Portugese water dogs here

http://www.petfinder.com/pet-search?pet_breed=Portuguese+Water+Dog&animal_type=Dog&location=WA

Not like they haven't got a jet that could pick one up and deliver it. Which might actually make an impact. Instead we get this, along with the videos on tv of a bunch of sad animals with Wille Nelson voice-overs while well-funded orgs that care more about paying their staff than helping animals try and get you to fork over some $$$. While rescues that need the help get little or nothing.

What a place...

[phleshdef]

11. I'm sure people mean "adopt" as in "to take into one's family".

We use the word "adopt" for our animals. One dog we bought from a breeder. Another dog we took in from a family that didn't want it anymore. And all 3 of our cats are strays that we rescued off the street as kittens.

[elleng]

13. Yes, thanks, stated better than mine, phleshdef.

[peacebird]

14. Exactly, we 'adopted' Jake into our family after 25 years of rescue and shelter babies.

Jake is a pure bred lab, from a breeder, and we do not love him any more or less than our shelter babies - all of whom we also "adopted" into our family. Our last shelter baby died earlier this year, the average age of our adoptees was 7 years old when we brought them home.
Jake was a mere pup, but he has a heart of gold. Why must some folks sneer at animals based on whether they were purchased or not?
On edit - or sneer at their humans based upon whether the fur babies were purchased or not?

[jtuck004]

20. Not sneering, just pointing out that this supports the breeding of dogs when we are killing millions

of other perfectly fine "family members" in the shelter.

And then calling it the same thing, which it isn't.

[peacebird]

24. It IS adopting a furbeast into the family, regardless. Just as we welcome a child, adopted or not

And we Don't sneer at the costs people incur to adopt from another country.

[jtuck004]

26. And war is peace and up is down. Got it. Whatever's convenient. n/t

[jtuck004]

23. "Millionaire President Acquires Expensive Pair of Registered Portugese Water Dogs While Thousands of

Unwanted Pets Die in Shelters Every Day and 45% of Seniors Reach Social Security With No Retirement."

Yeah, I can see why they would want to veer away from the facts in their headline. It sounds a little different than people want to think of a Democrat.

I'm glad you took the animals in that you did, and have no problem that a few people buy from a breeder.

Buying from a breeder is buying a dog from someone who breeds and sells them for a profit. While those dogs are being purchased, other, perfectly good and unwanted dogs and cats die, unnecessarily, in shelters. Adopting means taking one in that has no home, such as from a shelter or rescue, that otherwise would most likely be killed. In the world of animal rescue and to millions of other people, those terms are very different and mean something very specific.

Which makes the reporter either incompetent or a liar. And anyone who doesn't correct them is complicit.

If there is nothing wrong with it, why did the paper use words that have such different meanings to so many people? Is there something to hide, something to be ashamed of? If not, call it what it is and be done with it. Or is someone trying to get, or give, credit that's not deserved?

I don't beat up on people who buy pets, because good scientific breeding (which very few breeders actually practice) can improve the animals health. Though, in reality, most don't. They are just in it for profit. (People convince themselves that they bought from one of the good ones because they paid something for it, yet the odds are they didn't. But that's another issue). But not everyone is cut out to be a shelter pet owner, just like not everyone is not cut out to be a parent. On the other hand, there is no excuse for screwing around with the truth when there are lives at stake, either.

We could stop the problem in fairly short order, if cities would fund low-cost spay neuter as well as they do the millions each city pays per year for a shelter to kill them. It would "fix" the problem. Prior to the 1960's, when they began to teach spay/neuter to vets, we were killing upwards of 20 million animals a year. Now it is down to around 4-6 million, and many live tragic, painful lives, and then die alone in a shelter or in pain on the side of the road because humans ignore them. As if they are worth nothing.

So when I see crap like that headline, I say something. Just like when I see bigotry or sexism. Because those animals mean something to me.

[peacebird]

25. oh please. They brought home a breed that works with their daughters allergies. And donated

Money to a shelter apparently.

It might be better to vent some of your outrage at the people who don't spay or neuter their animals and dump the litters. Or those who decide puppies and kittens are cute, but dump the adults off at the shelter because they are too much work.

[jtuck004]

28. I hold educated rich people who make promises to a higher standard than someone

who may not know any better. As for the others you mentioned, I don't vent. I transport adopted dogs, help owners with other matters, organized a spay/neuter event in which we brought together a small town of people who couldn't afford other alternative and we "fixed" 140 animals in a weekend at no cost to the owners. And a few other things that actually work to solve the problem, not make it worse.

All while other people buy dogs from dealers, perpetuating the problem. Because 25% of the dogs in shelters are these precious little pure-breds people pay money for.

I don't just sit around and make excuses for people to avoid responsibility.

I suspect were I to try and make an argument that, say because, say, the Koch Bros donate to their church on Sunday that somehow has an impact on all their other "activities. I am presuming you would tell me those are completely unrelated. Because they are.

Suggesting that someone donating to a shelter while perpetuating the problem that creates the need for shelters makes no more sense. I don't care if it's the POTUS or Roger my next door neighbor.

Nothing new, I've heard it all before.

[Tarheel_Dem]

30. You do what works for you. As for the rest of us, we have choices, and live with them.

[jtuck004]

31. We all have choices, no difference. Some take responsibility, some make excuses. n/t

[Tarheel_Dem]

37. Like I said, you do what's right for you & yours, and leave others out of your sanctimonious....

preferences. Your quibble is really with the NYT, but I can see how you wouldn't want to throw away an opportunity to bash the POTUS and his family. Not everything is a soapbox moment, despite the zealotry of those with various "pet" issues.

[Arugula Latte]

32. I hate hate HATE the breeding of animals.

However, I get that it's tricky if you need a certain type of dog or cat for allergy reasons. They probably could have put the word out to rescue groups, though, and have gotten this breed of dog that way.

[Arkana]

33. Is there any joy in your world or is it just cold, empty darkness all the time?

[jtuck004]

34. Care to go sit in a crate at the shelter until you are dragged off to be killed?

Maybe after a few days of being lost and alone, or injured and laying on the side of a hot road without food or water.

There's a joyless world for you, and the people that perpetuate it. Since you asked.

Mine is just fine, and one that I prefer to sticking my head in the sand and pretending there are no problems.

Thanks for asking

[Arkana]

38. So...pretty much just cold darkness, then?

[jtuck004]

39. The trouble with responding to Teabagger-types is they only hear what they want to hear.

Maybe it's the sand in their ears...

You take care

[TorchTheWitch]

35. it isn't what they mean

"Adopt" means literally to adopt a pet from a shelter or other rescue organization because they legally have to be adopted - you sign adoption papers to take ownership. That's how the term came to be concerning pets and what it has always meant. People can call their dogs adopted and mean anything they want, but there is a known reason and legal term for what the difference is between an adopted pet and one that is purchased or gifted or found as a stray and kept. These articles calling Bo adopted are doing it because Obama promised he wouldn't buy a dog for their family but adopt a shelter dog, except that's not how they acquired Bo - he was given as a gift. No adoption papers were either necessary nor signed. In promising to adopt a shelter dog for his family Obama meant to both come across as a compassionate person willing to rescue a pet from a shelter or other rescue organization as well as encourage others to do the same because of the glut of unwanted ownerless pets languishing in shelters and rescue organizations. Calling Bo adopted is a deliberate attempt to made it appear that Obama did as he had promised he would concerning acquiring a family dog.

It bothers me when people say they adopted their pet when they didn't. If the pet wasn't legally adopted by taking ownership by having to sign legal adoption papers it's not an adopted pet whether you got it for free or not. And there is a reason why journalist are calling Bo adopted when he was not.

For the record, I don't care whether people get their dogs from shelters, rescue groups, find them as strays or purchase them from a reputable breeder. All three of my Akitas were purchased, the one I have now and the second one from responsible well-respected breeders after I found out the hard way the problems of backyard breeding and puppy mills though I don't ever and will never regret a single day I had with my first Akita that I purchased from a puppy mill since he was a wonderful dog though all his life long health problems cost me a bundle I couldn't afford and caused him unnecessary minor sufferings. He SHOULD have been properly bred and properly raised with his doggie mom for at least eight weeks, and th existence of puppy mills perpetuates the practice of continuing to allow poor breeding and raising of dogs because it's those lousy backyard breeders that do it for money that stock the puppy mills.

There is a place for shelter and rescue pets as well as properly well-bred and raised ones. Proper responsible breeding is important since it produces animals that have the best chance at a healthy life free of disorders that are passed on through genetics. But I will never call my properly and responsibly bred and raised dogs "adopted" when they weren't, and I'm GLAD that they weren't. It's WHY I went the responsible breeder route when acquiring my last two dogs. My dogs are my family, and I want the best chance at a healthy and happy long life for them by not gambling on physical or behavioral issues genetically acquired - been there, done that, broke the bank on it.

That said, it doesn't bother me in the least that the Obama family acquired Bo from a responsible breeder, but it certainly does bother me that anyone calls him an adopted dog when he isn't. He is a physical and behavioral genetically superior dog that was gifted to the Obamas, and had he not been gifted he would have been sold for a considerable amount. In no way was he adopted any more than he was rescued, and saying so is grossly disingenuous, and worse it's being said for a reason - because he dropped the ball on the promise of acquiring a shelter dog.

[phleshdef]

36. Yes it is.

Adopt isn't JUST a legal term and people use it all the time to say that they took in a new pet. Look it up in the dictionary.

[elleng]

12. This is NOT a lie, or deception,

people ADOPT new family members, children and animals, and as to the animals, we STILL adopt those we attain thru rescues AND those we acquire and buy from breeders.

[flvegan]

18. It absolutely is.

To speak to your mistruth, "we STILL adopt those we attain thru rescues AND those we acquire and buy from breeders" Tha fuck? That's a lie AND a deception.

If you buy from a breeder, you just killed a rescue. Helluvan adoption program. But I guess it sounds nice through the whitewash and apologist-speak.

And go ahead, breeders. Bring it. I salivate at the thought...

[peacebird]

27. As i stated above, vent your outrage at those who cause animals to be IN the shelters

Not at people who adopt animals from places other than shelters.

vent your outrage at the people who don't spay or neuter their animals and dump the litters. Or those who decide puppies and kittens are cute, but dump the adults off at the shelter because they are too much work.

[jtuck004]

19. Then I am going to go adopt some gas into my car and a fish from Walmart.

In the animal rescue world, we adopt from places where they don't have a home to go to.

They either paid for or were donated a dog that had a waiting list of purchasers from dogs that are bred for profit.

That is a bastardization and spin on a term, that means something different to thousands of other people. But one can pretend it's different if they want, if they are afraid of calling it what most everyone else does.

I find it pathetic.

[DreamGypsy]

16. The word 'adopt' was evidently introduced by the New York Times...

...and not by the White House. The NYT article also describes Bo as "adopted".

And I agree with you about the misleading connotations - my first thought was "Great! A shelter dog.", but then the reality quickly set in as it became clear that it was a pure breed PWD.

The NYT pays people to write pap, because that's went readers like to read/hear.

From The White House Blog - Meet Sunny: The Obamas' New Puppy:

Today the Obamas welcomed the newest member of their family – a little girl (puppy) named Sunny!

Sunny was born in Michigan in June 2012, and arrived at the White House today. Just like Bo, she’s a Portuguese Water Dog, which works great for the Obamas because of allergies in their family.

<snip>

In honor of Sunny, the Obamas are making a donation to the Washington Humane Society.

[jtuck004]

21. I agree, they didn't write it. But if one remembers his promise to adopt a shelter dog

and, instead, he got or bought Bo, and salved it over with a donation to the local shelter, and some excuses.

I just wish people would do what they say. Tired of hypocrisy and the pain it brings for others. Not just from the WH, but all around us. What many people say they will do, especially people with money, doesn't mean shit.

They apparently think everyone else is forgetful, or just stupid.

[KoKo]

10. The Girls are getting older...and it's time to add a new dog. I can understand that.

It's a nice story about them getting a companion for BO.. At this point with the Girls getting older...it's a good time to prepare for when they go...and to have something for them to come back home to...and stuff parents can talk about when their kids start to "FLY."

It's nice...thanks for posting.

[Brigid]

15. Sunny is adorable.

She'll be a great companion for Bo.

[Fearless]

22. A Kennedy dog no longer representative of the family?