On Tuesday evening during his acceptance speech, President-Elect Obama announced to his two little girls that there's a "new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House." Since that comment, there has been hope within the animal rescue circles that the Obamas will adopt a shelter dog to serve as a role model to our nation.
Today, Obama held his first press conference as president-elect and was asked, among many other questions, what kind of dog he would end up getting. (I was so thrilled to hear this question asked!!) Obama's response:
With respect to the dog, this is a major issue. I think it's generated more interest on our website than just about anything. We have -- we have two criteria that have to be reconciled. One is that Malia is allergic, so it has to be hypoallergenic. There are a number of breeds that are hypoallergenic. On the other hand, our preference would be to get a shelter dog, but, obviously, a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me. So -- so whether we're going to be able to balance those two things I think is a pressing issue on the Obama household.
So, at this point, there is hope...
And, on a side-note, what a press conference it was! Standing behind Obama were VP-elect Biden and a 17-person economic advisory committee that Obama's already pulled together. Obama reiterated his intent to help out the middle class and those who have lost their jobs in this recessed economy.