First goldendoodle?

By GottaLaff

A goldendoodle (Photo: Rob Bennett for The New York Times)

Even the most inconsequential things get politicized. The new First Puppy is already generating buzz:

Now that Barack Obama has been elected president, he can start fulfilling his many campaign promises — including the one to his two daughters that when the election was over, regardless of the outcome, they would be cuddling up to a new dog. [...]

The world, as evidenced by chatter and pictures flying around on the Internet today, has become captivated by the idea of a new First Puppy.

By now, the Obamas should know that everything they do, including picking a family pet, will be interpreted through a political prism. [...]

He had said a year ago, while campaigning in Iowa, that his older daughter, Malia, now 10, had been investigating breeds and decided that because of her allergies, she wanted a goldendoodle, which is a cross between a golden retriever and poodle.

He said his daughter thought the goldendoodle “the optimal dog.”

This prompted lobbying by dog lovers and animal groups against a purebred. The People for Ethical Treatment of Animals wrote to the Obamas saying that a purebred would be “elitist.” The Best Friends Animal Society gathered more than 50,000 signatures to persuade them to adopt a dog instead of going to a breeder.

This pet will be in the family for years, so it's an important decision. If Malia has allergies, their choices will be limited. Yes, rescuing is the optimal choice for a number of reasons, but purebreds are "elitist"? We've always had purebreds, and I'm not exactly what you'd call hoity-toity.

I'd never buy from a pet store (read: puppy mill) either, but why discriminate against breeders?

But I get it. The Obamas have a lot of influence, and there are consequences for everything they do, say, breathe, and eat. I'm a huge animal lover and even got my two cats from a pet rescue organization.

However, I also don't think it's wrong to go to a reputable breeder. Especially when the Obamas must choose a dog that won't increase Malia's allergies.

“We’re going to adopt a dog, I think,” said Mrs. Obama.

Mr. Obama then put in: “A rescue dog.”

The news sped around the dog portion of the blogosphere. Many readers were thrilled, seeing this as a sign that the Obamas were taking a populist approach. Many also assumed that the Obamas were getting a dog from a shelter, although they did not exactly say that.

One commenter on Digg Dialogg, for example, wrote that the Obamas planned to “adopt a rescue dog, instead of purchasing a puppy from a pet store or breeder.” The writer added: “The Obama family’s decision to adopt will help publicize the plight of rescue animals and could result in many pets being saved from euthanasia across the country.”

This kind of choice is fraught with political implications.

I don't mean to belabor this. I guess all I'm really saying is, being under a microscope isn't easy, especially when you're an allergic ten-year-old in the midst of a huge life-changing transition.