Obama puppy, our national obsession
It is hard to believe the enormous amount of attention President-elect Obama and his family is getting about adopting a puppy. The entire country seems to have a personal stake in this decision. I think we have gone a little “over the top” on this issue, especially after seeing the news today. The Peruvian Hairless Dog club has tossed their beloved, national breed into the debate.
The buzz about the first-dog began before the election, but the day after Barack Obama’s acceptance speech to be the 44
th President of the United States and where he pledged to adopt a dog for his daughters, there was an unprecedented
499,000 Google searches on the subject. In addition, 21 Blog sites covered the story and virtually every animal welfare organization wrote about the impending adoption.
Here are just a handful of the groups that have campaigned for the best puppy for the Obama family.
- Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States congratulated Obama on his decision to adopt a shelter pet and started an online thank you card that would be sent to the Obama’s. (Of course the shelter idea changed when we learned daughter Malia has allergies.)
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- Best Friends Animal Society has offered to find and train a dog for the Obama family. They are confident that a hypoallergenic puppy can be found among the 600 dogs at their Utah sanctuary.
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- The American Kennel Association has a list of the top hypoallergenic dog breeds that they would like to share with the family. They also held a vote from members who selected the Poodle for the Obama's.
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- The American Veterinary Medical Association suggests the adoption of a dog with “low dander” as a solution to the allergy problem and they list those breeds.
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- The ASPCA has a campaign for the Obama’s to “Make Adoption Their First Choice.”
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- You Tube is running a contest where readers vote for their choice of First Puppy.
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- Doggyspace.com wants the Obama’s to create their own Blog once they adopt a puppy so the entire country can see it grow up online.
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- Care2,the website about the environment is hotly debating the topic.
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As you can see weighing in on the subject has been a popular event and it has been a happy diversion from our difficult economic times, but personally I think it is getting to be old news.