Likewise with choosing a pet. Why not an unwanted dog from a pound than putting in an order for a special breed? Picking one from a rescue shelter reduces pet overpopulation.

President Obama promised his girls a pet dog after the election. He announced during the campaign that they would likely get a mutt from a rescued shelter, the dog pound.

Their search at rescue shelters was made difficult by daughter Malia’s allergies, which would rule out mutts that shed hair.

Enter Bo, a 6-month-old puppy, a Portuguese Water Dog (PWD), given to the Obama children as gifts by Senator and Mrs. Edward Kennedy. Just right for Malia’s allergies. A PWD does not shed.

Bo had a previous owner who lives in Washington but was returned to the breeder. Bo is now at the White House, where it is a perfect fit for the Obama lifestyle, and for Malia’s health concern.

Is Bo a rescue shelter dog or not? Bo never spent time in a shelter or with a rescue group which makes him a quasi-rescue dog. But he was rescued from a situation that wasn’t working. Bo came as a gift before the search was completed, so the Obamas made a gift to some of the places where they were looking. The Obamas have also made a donation to the Washington Humane Society.

Did President Obama keep or break a campaign promise by accepting a bred dog rather than a shelter mutt as the family’s new pet? Who cares? Let’s worry about the First Daughter’s allergy!

PWDs aren’t for everyone, They tend to be high-energy in-your-face dogs that need attention, and their curly coats require a lot of maintenance. They have a can-do and hopeful spirit. They are smart. They are resilient. They are determined. They are optimistic. And they are tireless. Sounds like a perfect fit for the Obama family and the Obama administration. Bo seemed like a good fit because the Obamas are an active family and have the resources to give him the training and other things he needs.

"...I will say that many animal advocates are disappointed; so many activists are focused on trying to reduce the number of animals euthanized at shelters, and there’s no better person to make the case to the American public that you can get a great dog from a shelter than the president," said Cesar Millan, host of the National Geographic Channel’s "The Dog Whisperer" and co-founder with his wife of a nonprofit foundation to help abused dogs. The Humane Society acknowledged that the Obamas never flat-out promised to get a dog from a pound or rescue group.

Abused dogs advocate Cesar Millan should come to the Philippines and spend all his time spaying pets. Many owners put their animals in the street at night mating. Hundreds of puppies and kittens are born to roam the streets unfed. There’s no place to house them, and even animal pounds don’t want them.

The twists and turns of Bo’s route to the White House make for the kind of intrigue that political junkies and the highly opinionated dog world delight in.