Interestingly, more than Barack Obama, the next canine incumbent of the White House is dogging the headlines. In his acceptance speech at Chicago, Obama told his daughters, Malia and Sasha, “I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House.” And everyone from the BBC to the internet seems to have gone ballistic about it. There has been a proliferation of websites and opinion polls all delivering their choice of dogs which the next First Family should adopt as a pet.
Malia wanted a goldendoodle, which is a cross between a golden retriever and a poodle, a hybrid which is not yet recognized as a breed by the American Kennel Club. It has got the purists into a tizzy who stick by their choice of pure breds as suitable White House inhabitants. Genetics, they say is important.
Ms Tamar Geller, a celebrity ‘dog life coach’ (whatever that means) goes on to describe the perfect White House mutt thus: “We need to make sure that the dog is not afraid of loud noises because he may hear loud arguments in the Oval Office, and he mustn’t be afraid of people with beards and turbans and so on because he is going to meet a lot of foreign dignitaries.” Racial discrimination here too!! “Can you imagine the dog jumping on Putin, or lifting his leg and peeing on the curtains, or nipping at Gordon Brown?” she says. So now a poor dog can’t even pee in peace as he is the First Pet! It is a dog’s life anyway!
When this debate subsides, there will be another furore when it comes to christening the First Pet. ‘Will it be called Palin or Lipstick?’ go the speculations. The media just needs to convert a non-issue into a bone of contention. First they went on incessantly about Senator Obama’s pedigree, now his mutt will be at the butt of their ‘journalistic’ endeavours. Somewhere, the real face behind Obama’s skin seems neglected.
Responding to this ‘pressing issue’, Obama stated that Malia is allergic and so they would like to choose a hypoallergenic pet. But he went on to say that they would probably choose a shelter dog. “Obviously a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me,” he said with a smile in an obvious reference to his mixed pedigree. (Watch)
It is refreshing to hear Obama talk of his origins in such an offhanded manner and I do like the way he doesn’t treat the colour of his skin seriously. He is comfortable in handling issues of race which most people shove under the carpet. The White House has in the past had alligators, silk worms, hamsters, billy goats and ponies as pets. Given his black and white background, and his need to please everyone, maybe Obama ought to get a zebra as a pet.
