Barack Obama's Pets

Barack Obama has two Portuguese Water Dogs, a male named Bo and a female named Sunny. At Obama’s first press conference as president-elect he was asked about getting a dog and he said “…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.”

Being hypoallergenic, Portuguese water dogs were on his public short list with Senator Edward Kennedy gifting them Bo, who officially moved into the White House on April 14, 2009 (Born Oct. 9, 2008). He was joined by Sunny on August 19, 2013 (born June 11, 2012). Both famous figures themselves, they had official White House schedules, making many appearances at events and fundraisers. Their fame even led to a North Dakota man being arrested in January 2016 for plotting to kidnap the pair.

Bo passed away in 2021.