First U.S. Presidential Victory Speech to Mention an Animal?

November 05, 2008

Barack Obama made history last night when he was elected as the first African American U.S. president, but he may have also made history in yet another way when he said, "I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House." That brief puppy mention may represent the first time that an animal has been referenced in a presidential victory speech. If not, use of the word "puppy" would certainly seem to be a rarity. 

(Credit: Robert Sebree / reprinted from A Rare Breed of Love: The True Story of Baby and the Mission She Inspired to Help Dogs Everywhere (Fireside Books)

The above photo shows Obama with "Baby," a three-legged dog that lost its fourth limb following years of mistreatment at a California puppy mill. The toy poodle spent much of its life locked in a small wire cage. The breeders cut out Baby's vocal chords so that they would not have to hear her cries. In cages next to her, other dogs literally went insane, spinning repetitively with blank stares. Still others were gravely ill, maimed and had filthy, matted coats. A number was tattooed on the inside of Baby's ear, marking her as just one of many dogs at the mill.

When Baby got too old to produce enough puppies, the mill breeders planned to kill her. A passing stranger noticed the little dog in her wire cage and rescued her. Through a pet rescue web site, Baby was then adopted by psychologist and animal welfare advocate Jana Kohl, who previously worked for the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies.

Kohl recently traveled around the country with Baby, lobbying politicians and inspiring an entire movement to end the kind of animal abuse Baby suffered. Many of the cute dogs that you see in pet store windows come from puppy mills like the one that housed the now-famous toy poodle.

Baby, an unofficial spokesdog for The Humane Society of the United States, stopped to pose with many high profile supporters, including our new president. The images were compiled in Kohl's book A Rare Breed of Love: The True Story of Baby and the Mission She Inspired to Help Dogs Everywhere (Fireside/Simon & Schuster; June 3, 2008; $25.95/hardcover; 1-4165-6403-9).

Gloria Steinem wrote an essay about her love of animals for the book.
(Credit: Gerri Hernández)

And Baby also posed with the Chicago White Sox.
(Credit: Jamie Slade)
    

Please watch the below video to see additional photographs from the book including, towards the end, more memorable images of president elect Barack Obama and Baby.

Comments

[Clint Lenard]

What kind of garbage would run a Puppy mill? Worthless humans who need to be sitting in wired cages themselves...

[Jen Viegas]

The image of humans sitting in wired cages is a powerful one, Clint. The bad economy likely contributes to the continued practice of puppy mills, with some people seeing animals as a way out of their personal problems. Hopefully better education and better financial prospects will help to end the horrific factory farms once and for all.

[Allie]

Obama Is Holding The Dog For A Gift For His Kids

[A Sanico, MD]

The Obamas have been talking publicly about getting a "hypoallergenic" dog for their daughter who has asthma. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a truly non-allergenic or hypoallergenic dog. Dogs (and cats for that matter) produce allergenic proteins that can be found in their dander and saliva, regardless of their breed or the length and color of their hair, or lack thereof. Some may produce more - or less - allergens than others simply because of their individual nature. Allergen immunotherapy may be an option for those who wish to be desensitized to such allergens.

[Jen Viegas]

A good point, Dr. Sanico. My guess is that the size of the White House, and the included cleaning staff!, could help with the problem. A lot of people with allergies manage to live with pets, though, as you've indicated. Where there's a will and a love of animals, there often seems to be a way.

[jkh]

do we get to vote on the dog too? I vote for a German shepard!

[Keith]

"The bad economy likely contributes to the continued practice of puppy mills..."

hahah right, we're in such a state of utter depression in this country that people are having to resort to puppy milling!

or, there are always these kinds of cruel people, regardless of the economic climate.

[Jen Viegas]

You're of course right, Keith. But do you think cruelty is their primary motivation? If money wasn't in it, as for illegal trafficking of exotic animals, they'd have to shut down. We can all help to stop the practice. For more info, please check out sites like:
http://network.bestfriends.org/truth/news/16431.html

[Beth]

I vote for a pit bull (lipstick optional) to join them in the white house. No kidding aside, I think its great the girls will get a puppy. I just wish I had a Whitehouse staff to clean up after mine when we first got him!

[water_bearer]

I, for one, hope that the Obama family adopts a shelter dog like they said they wanted to and further, that said dog is not only a mutt, but one of indeterminate parentage. That way, whatever breed or mix of breeds their new pooch is made up of will not become the next de rigueur breed or so-called "designer dog" to have. Just as the popularity of Dalmations increased after 101 Dalmations came out, so too did Springers after Millie lived in the White House, and Labs after Buddy, and Scotties after Barney. Inevitably, the breed of dog in the White House sees more interest, and therefore a higher number of puppy mills making more of that breed and giving it a bad name by doing so without a good plan, and eventually an increase of that breed showing up at shelters in the following year. More recently, some mix of one popular breed with another such as a "Malti-poo" (Maltese and Miniature or Toy Poodle) is seen on the arm of some pseudo celebrity, photographed for a gossip rag, and boom... interest in that untested and unpredictable combo (whatever it happens to be), spikes. I would hate to see the Obamas get a Labradoodle or Poo-Schnau or Ori-Pei, or who knows what... just as much as I would hate to see them get a "pure-bred" from a pet shop for the same reason - a spike in sales to a greater number of people who probably shouldn't have a dog in the first place, let alone pick one just for the fashionable sake of getting whatever the Prez. and his fam have just so that we can add to the millions of homeless (and soon to be put to sleep) dogs in shelters already.
No... I'd like to see a good old-fashioned Heinz-57 / Canardly... you know... can 'ardly tell what it is? I think it would be particularly poignant to not only rescue a homeless pet from a broken home and give it a better life, but for that dog to be of mixed parentage. Isn't that the American story?

[lm]

Too bad he doesn't feel the same care for the unborn HUMANS that are left on the table to die after they are unfortunate enough to not die during the actual abortion. Of course, in his words, it is too much of a strain on the medical industry to try and save these little ones. If we care so little for our own species how can we be expected to have mercy for the animals of this planet? I would love to see him adopt a small child that was left to die on the table of an abortion clinic/hospital. That to me is true mercy and love. From there stems mercy and love for all other living creatures.

[Jen Viegas]

"Canardly"
Great word, water_bearer. Never heard that before. Maybe you coined it? Should be in the dictionary of dog terms. It'd apply to mixed breed cats as well.
And Im, you state your position well. Thanks to you both for writing in.

[Momma]

I vote for a collie!! One just like Lassie!!

Momma
Feature blogger at Engineer a Debt Free Life (lots of freebies, bargains, and money saving tips!)
http://www.engineeradebtfreelife.com/

[Jacky]

Nice post water_bearer. I agree, it would be great to see them adopt a mix-breed mutt. I can see all the Hollywood types getting them for there dog purses! It would be a great change of pace.

[Chartiek]

I agree, it has to be a rescue but I vote Sheltie! It would fit in so nicely with the Obama family.

[MikeAndAnnie]

Since its the daughters who want the dog, perhaps this is an issue that they (along with Mom, of course!) could champion?
Michelle has also said that they know to wait until things settle down in the WH after they move in, so she hopes to adopt sometime in the spring of 2009 or later.

[Hawaii Island Humane Society]

A Poi Dog for the President?
Hawaii Island Humane Society Lobbies President-Elect Obama to Adopt Next Presidential Pooch

Dear President-Elect Obama,

Though I’m not a Blue Dog (you’ll be meeting with enough of them come January), I am a pound puppy, a pretty pooch, a poi dog extraordinaire.

Now I don’t usually brag, but when they turned on the television at the Hawaii Island Humane Society so we could all watch your victory speech, my ears sure perked up when I heard your promise to your daughters….. that they’d get a puppy to bring with them to the White House. What a paw-some thing to say!

Well I’m cute as they come I tell you. Sure, I’m a poi dog, but you grew up in Hawaii so you know that poi dogs make devoted pets and we come in all shapes, sizes and colors. …and we come in non-allergenic models too!

Among the hundreds of dogs to choose from, how amazingly special would it be for the White House to have a POI dog? Gosh, you’d have a lot of explaining to do when people ask what kind of dog I am, but you’d never have to explain yourself to the millions of people who are looking to you to do the right thing.

We understand each other, you and I. You’ve already announced that your family would rescue a dog. I know you have a big heart. So maybe when you’re in Hawaii in December, you could come by and visit me?

I’ll be the one who looks, well, like I’d do really well in Washington D.C. I’ll be the one who jumps on to Malia or Sasha’s lap. You’ll know I’m the right one. I won’t be perfect; I’ll be a Poi Dog.
A Hui Hou (until we meet).
With Aloha,
Makana
(My name means “gift” in Hawaiian)

[Dvid]

Let Obama know what the first pup's name and breed should be at http://www.nameobamaspuppy.com.

[Warhorse]

To the Good Doctor -

All 'hypoallergenic' means is that they are *less* likely to cause allergies - so yes, there is such a thing.

Just as there are breeds who tend to cause reactions in more people than others.

Methinks you may benefit from brushing up on your Greek prefixes.

[Phyllis Buckner]

I have always heard that some dogs have fur, and others have hair... you have to continually trim the ones with hair... and they cause fewer allergies than the one with fur. I am afraid that a Heinz would be anything but hypoallergenic. I have a toy poodle and a maltipoo (as it turned out, from a recessive gene) and they are both so layed-back and love kids tremendously. They love to be cuddled, but not by really little kids that like to grab them in all the wrong places. But the first-kids are both older that that. Happy Hunting!!

[Jen Viegas]

Phyllis,
Just this week I got into a discussion with a scientist- Leopold Eckhart at the University of Vienna- about fur versus hair. He studies the origins of hair, among other things. Eckhart said that in his view, the terms hair and fur are interchangeable. I'm thinking the words might hold particular meanings for dog breeders, however.
The first animals with hair only had something akin to whiskers, which led to hair and then thicker growths that we now call fur.
Your poodle and maltipoo sound like a great pair. If anything, they must be too popular with kids.
Thanks for your note,
Jen

[Candy Johnson]

I would like to suggest a maltese puppy because they are non allergetic, they are very playful, they are easy to train (if you start when they are still a puppy), they love to sit in peoples laps, and they are absoutly beutiful.

[Jen Viegas]

Obama has said that the choice now is between a Portuguese water dog or a labradoodle. Maybe a Maltese can later call the White House home too, as Candy suggests. These two support the idea:
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-142255