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Obama Not The First President To Make Dog Mistake

Written by Vegetarian Star on Monday, July 6th, 2009 in Animal Issues, Politicians.

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The White House Debuts The Obamas New Dog Bo, A Portuguese Water Dog

After Barack Obama and the family got a dog that was not rescued from a shelter, there was much outcry from animal lovers everywhere.

But Barack isn’t the first president to make a pet faux paw (hahaha) in the spotlight.

During his time in the Oval Office, Lyndon B. Johnson had a beagle dog that he tried coaxing into standing on its hind legs for the press cameras.

Doggie wasn’t into it that day, so Johnson pulled on the dog’s ears and forced it to stand upright.

LBJ_pulling_beagle_ears

Public outrage occurred and Lyndon’s response wasn’t exactly the best damage control you can purchase.

A 1964 Time magazine article  reported that in London, the chairman of the League Against Cruel Sports stated, “If somebody picked you up by the ears, you’d yelp too. This is a most extraordinary way to treat a dog.”

Although he apologized for the incident, he admitted to pulling the dog’s ears since it was a puppy and added the beagle, “seemed to like it.”

All this wonderful history was recently stated on Animal Planet’s Dogs 101 and you can currently vote for your favorite first pup online!

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PETA Weighs In On Obama Dog Bo

Written by Vegetarian Star on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 in Animal Issues, Politicians.

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The Obamas new dog Bo arrives at the White House in Washington

Although months of rumors indicated the Obamas were getting a shelter dog, it was recently revealed the Portuguese water dog they took home was a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy.

The decision to do so after promising to adopt a shelter dog has incited a lot of controversy from animal rights groups. PETA, of course, is putting in their two cents. And they’re not happy with the decision.

“Let us be clear: The new first dog, Bo, is not a rescue. While he was returned to the breeder by his first owners, that subtle point is missing from or buried in most news reports and is no doubt lost on the masses of people who will be lining up at pet shops and demanding “Obama puppies.” These puppies will eventually lose their appeal, once people get tired of taking care of them, but because most pet shops and many breeders don’t take “returns,” guess where those unwanted “Obama puppies” are going to end up? At extremely crowded, overworked shelters like D.C.’s Washington Humane Society (WHS).”

Read the entire post PETA wrote on the Obama dog at peta.org.

What are your thoughts on Bo? Did Obama break an important promise and set a bad example for future pet owners? Or was it just extremely hard to find a shelter dog that was hypoallergenic?

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