First, the name. According to The Washington Post,
which published confirmation of the White House dog news Sunday, Malia,
10, and Sasha, 7, chose the name because their cousins have a cat named
Bo and because Mrs. Obama's father was nicknamed Diddley, as in Bo
Diddley. The dog is a gift from Sen. Ted Kennedy, who owns three dogs
of the same breed, known for high spirits and said to be a good fit for
kids with allergies (such as Malia). Kennedy had been lobbying the
Obamas to get a Portuguese Water Dog (or PWD) for months
The first family has settled on a first pet _ a 6-month-old Portuguese water dog that the Obama girls are naming Bo.
The selection was one of the White House's most tightly kept secrets.
President Barack Obama's daughters, 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha, picked a black and white pup, a White House official speaking on the condition of anonymity told The Associated Press Saturday night.
