Sunny (dog)

Sunny

Bo (left) and Sunny (right) in 2013
Species	Canis lupus familiaris
Breed	Portuguese Water Dog
Sex	Female
Born	June 11, 2012 Lansing, Michigan, United States
Nation from	United States
Known for	Pet of the First Family of the United States (first dog)
Owner	Obama family
Appearance	Black
Named after	Personality

Sunny (born June 11, 2012) is a pet dog of the Obama family, the First Family of the United States. Sunny is a female Portuguese Water Dog, who has been called the younger sister of Bo, who holds the title of First Dog of the United States.^[1][2] Sunny was introduced via First Lady Michelle Obama's Twitter account on August 19, 2013.^[3]

Breed background

The Portuguese Water Dog is originally from the Algarve region of Portugal. Only 48 Portuguese Water Dogs were entered for Britain's Crufts competition in 2009^[4] and the author of The New Complete Portuguese Water Dog, Kitty Braund, believes there are about 50,000 in North America.^[5] Due to its fleecy coat of non-shedding hair (instead of fur), the Portuguese Water Dog is considered a hypoallergenic dog breed.

Breeding and original owners

Sunny is a purebred Portuguese Water Dog, and was selected from a breeder in the Great Lakes area.^[6]

Media response

Although Sunny was purchased from a breeder, president of The Humane Society of the United States, Wayne Pacelle, wrote on a blog post, "As we always say in such circumstances, we hope the Obamas considered adoption or rescue as the first choice in obtaining a pet." He further went on to thank the Obama family for making a contribution to the Humane Society in Sunny's name, and helping reduce the suffering of dogs, although he would like the policies to finally become law.^[6]

See also

• Bo
• United States presidential pets

References

1. Feldmann, Lindie. "New little girl arrives at White House. Meet Sunny Obama. (+video)". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
2. Bates, Daniel (August 21, 2013). "Revealed: How the Obamas came to buy their new $2,300 dog Sunny - and how she was 'born from frozen sperm'". Daily Mail. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
3. Obama, Michelle. "FLOTUS". Twitter. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
4. "PORTUGUESE WATER DOG". Crufts. 2009. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
5. Ryan, Denise (2009-04-15). "U.S. first family puts Portuguese water dog on the map". .canada.com. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
6. Grier, Peter (20 August 2013). "New White House pup Sunny: Why not a rescue dog?". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 20 August 2013.

External links