New First Dog of the United States
Obamas’ Dog has arrived in white house. The president’s daughters have a much better treat in store this holiday weekend with a new dog. Dog named "Bo", a 6-month-old Portuguese Water Dog. I’m so glad to hear about this news, because the president’s family also loving dog.
First, the name. According to The Washington Post, which published confirmation of the White House dog news Sunday, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, chose the name because their cousins have a cat named Bo and because Mrs. Obama’s father was nicknamed Diddley, as in Bo Diddley. The dog is a gift from Sen. Ted Kennedy, who owns three dogs of the same breed, known for high spirits and said to be a good fit for kids with allergies. Kennedy had been lobbying the Obamas to get a Portuguese Water Dog for months.
The Portuguese Water Dog, colloquially known as a Portie. It is a water spaniel breed of gun dog. Portuguese Water Dogs once existed all along Portugal’s coast, where they were taught to herd fish into fishermen’s nets, to retrieve lost tackle or broken nets and to act as couriers from ship to ship, or ship to shore.
Portuguese Water Dogs rode in bobbing fishing trawlers as they worked their way from the cold Atlantic waters of Portugal to the frigid fishing waters off the coast of Iceland where the fleets caught cod to bring home. Portuguese water dogs are classified as working dogs. That means the pups seem to enjoy being given jobs that allow them to display their intelligence, strength, and stamina.
Sources: people.com , nationalgeographic.com, wikipedia.org
