When I first heard that the Obama family needs a hypo-allergenic dog in the White House I wanted torecommendthe Portuguese Water Dog. My experience has been that they are a very clean breed, his fur  does not hold dirt.  I was going to ask  my friend Jerome Grossman, a democratic statesman,  torecommendit to President Obama.

But then I was told this story and knew IDidn’t have torecommendanything:

Michelle and Barack were leaving New Hampshire after the Presidential Primary on Ted Kennedy’s plane. Kennedy’s two dogs mischievously got out of the plane before departure. The flight was delayed. The two dogs were playing in the snow for a long time until they could be retrieved and brought back into the plane. I could relate, as sometimes I cannot get my dog to go somewhere. My porti hates cars, so Ted’s porti’s probably hate planes. Here’s an article with more information

I thought that the Obamas might be turned off by this breed after that incident, but I think instead they liked the PWD’s fun loving attitute, determination, will power, strength, courage, intelligence, appearance, hypo-allergenic fur, gaze, companionship, and need for exercise.

This is the only breed that can jump into a boat from the deep water. They were bred to jump. My group of dog-walking buddies have imagined stories of Obama’s Porti jumping on foreign Heads of States to greet them They won’t know what hit them. I don’t think this can be trained out of the breed, jumping is wired into them. It would be a comedy to have this breed  in the White House. I think the Obamas would enjoy this.

My porti is now a celebrity when I’m with him here  in Sausalito . People are curious about this ancient rare breed, and want to know what they are like.  He’s not mistaken for a Poodle that much anymore; most people don’t want one when I describe the commitment of time that they need every day. It’s not a breed that you can leave alone in the house or apartment, and you definitely can’t leave him outside all day unattended. But I do think that the breed would be an asset at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

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