Susan,
You’re absolutely incorrect in the characterization of the posters who disagree with Obama’s choice as “right wingers.” I spent the weeks before the election knocking on doors and making phone calls for the Obama campaign. Until today, I was still on his campaign e-mail list, and as such, was getting hit up with “Donate $25 because President Obama’s budget/agenda/whatever is under attack” requests. (Today I unsubbed, not because I no longer support him, but because I find it tacky for a President to hit people up for $25, especially a President who can’t find it in his own heart to rescue a dog after he promised to do so … my $25 donations will go to animal shelters, thank you.) Anyway, I supported him 100 percent and talked him up to anyone who would listen. That doesn’t mean I can’t be disgusted with his decision to forego saving a life and promoting rescue in favor of being selfish and elitist and schmoozing with Ted Kennedy.

And as for the comments saying that we don’t care about animals, that’s really obnoxious and offensive. I’ve had so many rescue/foster animals pass through my house (in addition to my own six rescue animals) and spent thousands on vet bills for these rescues (not to mention what I’ve spent on vet bills for my own) that I really take exception to your comment. Do you rescue animals?

Heidi,
I think you’ve got it backwards. It’s you all who sound like spoiled children. It’s not spoiled or selfish to care about suffering beings in need who need help. It is spoiled and selfish to get an elite purebred dog (and to defend doing so) when dogs are being killed by lethal injection in shelters as we type.

Thank you A.J.–very eloquently said!

I can’t get over the depths to which these Obama shills will go to defend this irresponsible and asinine choice.

Obama has shelter dogs’ blood on his hands

Heidi,

Rationalizations? The rationalizations seem to be coming from one side, and it’s not from those who don’t like the Obamas’ choice.

Also, who are you to tell others’ how they should feel? It’s really not your place to decide what level of emotion is “appropriate” for anyone except yourself.

There are different types of rescues people…one of my dogs came from a breeder who also boards dogs…someone boarded a dog with them and never returned. Quite frankly, it was the luckiest day of my life. So even though my dog ‘came from a breeder’ he is a ’2nd chance dog’ too. However the Obamas came to find the right dog for their family still promotes animal adoption. Be happy for them.

The tone out of proportion complaining in this thread sounds very similar to what I have been hearing from republicans.

I’m guessing maybe 5% of what is going on here is about a disappointment in one decision and the other 95% is really angst over Hilliary Clinton being the secretary of state instead of the president.

That latter situation was never an entitlement. Like it or not is was about a choice the population made in an election.

I suggest everyone who is more than just mildly disappointed do something like actually volunteer at a shelter or pass out some leaflets for an hour about breeders/puppy mills.

I am so sick of people trying to dismiss criticism of Obama’s failure to keep his promise and adopt a shelter dog as “Republican smearing” or jaded Hillary supporters.

Get over yourselves! I am criticizing Obama because he lied and let down the animals. This is a NON-PARTISAN issue!

Whether I am a republican or Hillary supporter is irrelevant! You are just trying to get away from the real issue at hand–Obama lied and shelter dogs will pay the price!

Also just for the record, liberals and democrats are not the only ones who care about animals–There’s no partisan monopoly on compassion for animals!

Take a look at the latest HSUS Humane Scorecard and see that on both state and federal levels there are many republicans who voted pro-animal (if not spearheaded pro-animal legislation) while many prominent democrats failed the animals miserably.

The animals don’t care what political stripe you are—just that you help them

Way to be patronizing Heidi. I guess it never occurred to you that there are republicans who are vegan and care about animals.
…perhaps they are even on this board! oh my!

Ok people, ENOUGH already!!! Please…!

geeezz!!

I’m an animal rights activist, a vegetarian and an environmentalist.

I’ve already rescued a few animals and right now I have 2 adorable cats I took off the streets many years ago.

I’m also disappointed that President Obama didn’t adopt a dog from an animal shelter.

However, this is not a good enough reason to start crucifying him and his family!
For heaven’s sake, this is just a dog for his daughters. Besides, it’s their family’s decision. I know that they are role models now but it’s not like this is the end of shelters all over the USA or that people will stop adopting animals from shelters!
Come on! It seems that you’re saying Americans can’t think for themselves and that the majority of the American people don’t have a mind of their own!

Let me point out that he did raise the issue of animal shelters… As I’ve stated before, what other president in the world would even care about the issue?

In my country politicians don’t give a s*** whether animals have a nice place to live or not!! It’s not an issue to them…

How many of those of you who consider yourselves soooo perfect actually have rescued animals or volunteer in animal shelters? I volunteer in my local shelter where there are approximately 550 animals… What about you!?

Isn’t it so easy to point fingers?
Instead of wasting time condemning others why don’t you get out there and do your part!?

Thanks and blessed be!

Darfur is more irrelevant than animal rescue, Christine? As is the war and global warming? Can you even see how absurd your statement looks in that context? No, you can’t. You are blinded to anything but your own agenda. What you said in your latest post is the very reason people tune out to animal rescue, vegetarian concepts and saving the planet. You sound ridiculous to write that statement and sound like a zealot.

There is only one way–your way. I get it. Very sad. You are a fanatic, your own statements prove it. Take a deep breath. Or 1,000.

Obama did not lie–go back again to 60 minutes, CNN and more. He said they HOPED, but other factors had to be considered. You are slandering Mr. Obama by misquoting him. He did make the comment “mutt like me” but also said there were other factors and he HOPED they could use a shelter. Get real. But, you never will. And you ARE hurting the cause. Shame on you.

From the New York Times and Reuters, Christine. Even the Humane Society acknowledges that the Obamas NEVER promised to acquire a shelter dog.
”They were starting their search with shelter dogs, but when the Kennedys learned of this dog and offered it as a gift to the girls, they met the dog, it was a perfect fit for their lifestyle and for Malia’s health concerns,” she said, adding that the Obamas are making a donation to the Washington Humane Society. ”Because this gift came before their pound search sort of was completed, they made a gift to some of the places they were looking.”

Still, conspiracy buffs might speculate that Bo was meant for the Obamas all along. Was his adoption engineered to look like a rescue — or at least blur the line to head off criticism that the Obamas had picked a purebred from a breeder?

The Humane Society’s Pacelle acknowledged that the Obamas never flat-out promised to get a dog from a pound or rescue group. And the society has kind words for Obama on its Web site: ”Thanks, Mr. President, for giving a second-chance dog a forever home,” it says.

Susan,
You’re twisting Chistine’s words. She did not say that Darfur is “more irrelevant” than any other cause, and you know it. But you know that you can’t argue with her very rational point – that it’s possible to care about many things at once, and just because there is a crisis in one place or issue does not mean that someone is incapable of caring about both that crisis and another crisis. People who don’t care about animal issues often pull the “you should be spending your time caring about human issues” card, as if the two were mutually exclusive, which they’re not. To act like they are is just a lame way of picking on others with whom you disagree, or excusing your own lack of compassion for animals. I find it incredibly pompous and arrogant for you to tell the people on this thread how they should think or feel about our President’s choice to let down the animals. Why don’t you be in charge of how YOU think and feel, m’kay?

And to say that it’s “extremist” to be disappointed that the Obamas failed to save a shelter dog’s life, as they publicly claimed they wanted to, is just plain silly. If the Obamas didn’t want to catch heat for getting a pedigreed Kennedy dog, they shouldn’t have gone all over talking about wanting to rescue a shelter dog. And didn’t Michelle Obama go on Entertainment Tonight an announce that the family WOULD be getting a rescue dog? All these platitudes about preferring to get a rescue mean nothing. Obviously the Obamas did not actually prefer to get a rescue dog because if they did they would have done it. So, why the big show about preferring it, then?

I can guarantee you that the Obamas brought this on themselves, and that if they hadn’t made such a to do about getting a rescue, they wouldn’t be taking 1/10th of the heat they’re taking for it. They deserve it. And to any of you who say this isn’t an important issue, why don’t you go down to your local shelter and get a job lethally injecting all the unwanted, healthy, adoptable animals? Have you ever even watched a documentary about what happens to these animals. To say it’s not big deal is the height of callousness and heartlessness.

I’m criticizing you for being a fanatic, Christine, who will only have one viewpoint. Say that stuff in your last paragraph to parents who’ve lost a child in Iraq. Because you may as well.

I volunteer for animal and human welfare causes, and I have the ability to temper my approach with both. The issues facing all living creatures are extremely concerning and vital. Once you start saying animals are higher in worth than humans, you are going to lose a lot of people who would have adopted at a shelter or volunteered. I object strongly to your statements and approach because I’ve seen how you go about it ruin the best of intentions. You have to bring folks in before you can fully begin to educate. Hitting them over the head as you are won’t serve. That is why I’ve stayed on this thread today. Sure, it would have been great if the Obamas could have found a pound dog. But they didn’t–another choice was a better fit for them. They are free to chose until your fanaticism changes all the “rules” of democracy and makes it otherwise. At least they considered it and gave it a try. That is more than most folks. To start with the “lies” and they are sentencing other dogs to “death” bile is destructive, but you went right there.

The article from Reuters, NYT and AP shows that your accusations of “lies” are wrong. You owe an apology. But you never will.

Susan:

When opponents start throwing personal insults and twisting words it becomes clear who has won the argument.

I fail to see how my speaking out for animals is offensive to a family who has lost a child in Iraq and I’m sorry that you think I am “paranoid” and “fanatical” for my belief that animals deserve equal consideration.

I’m not sure how these issues are relevant to the point at hand: Obama rejected a shelter dog and the consequences of this decision will be far reaching.

I think it’s fantastic that you do rescue work for animals. Thank you.
However, it’s really unfortunate that someone who claims to be so interested in animals would choose to attack people who are simply trying to give them voice.

Christine, amen. I agree 100 percent.

Susan, You can sling insults and call others “fanatical” all you want, but just look at who’s completely losing it here. Iraq? Two posts from now you’ll be bringing Hitler into the argument, and that that point it will be clear that you lost. Just kidding – kind of. But seriously, once you start flailing enough to invoke “a parent who has lost a child in Iraq” in a thread that has nothing to do with Iraq, it’s clearly time to take a deep breath and try to calm down a little so that make you can make some logical points about the topic at hand.

A returned dog IS a rescue dog. It is getting a second chance. It is being re-homed. To complain that the dog didn’t come from a shelter is just as silly as complaining to me the cat I found outside and rescued at 10 days old didn’t come from a shelter. Where we find the homeless pet is not the issue. What’s important is that we give them a stable, loving home.

Darfur is more irrelevant than animal rescue, Christine? As is the war and global warming? Can you even see how absurd your statement looks in that context? ”

Christine, Susan is an AKC breeder lobbyist.

These people always attack ANYONE who points out the problems in the purebred dog world or who supports adoption over dog sales.

They always do the same thing- try to distract by talking abouty other world problems.

The breeders are a business lobby that makes a lot of money, and they don’t want the truth getting out!

Read about Patti Strand, AKC board member and NAIA pro-abuse lobbyist, and see how and why the AKC uses these cheap tactics to hide their money and abuse http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Patti_Strand

Maribelle,
That dog you posted is a MIX. Pay attention. Then again, the animal rights activists never were ones for using their head. They just like to tell everyone else what to do. I’m glad to see the see the Obama dog issue is exposing this group for the whackos they are. Sad…..

This Obama dog controversy has brought out the amazing fact that most people apparently have no idea that animal dander allergies are treatable.

That’s what allergists do: They treat allergies so that people can recover from them.

It’s even more amazing that the wealthy and well-educated Obama’s supposedly don’t know that their daughter’s allergy condition is treatable.

(I don’t believe it, actually. Certainly when she was diagnosed they must have been told that treatment/recovery was an option. This “had to get a purebred because of the allergy” claim is baloney.)

Gimme a break! Obama is still the man. I’ll bet more people are inspired to adopt a rescue now than before, just because of the controversy this stirred up, and because the Prez made a statement acknowledging the importance of adoption rather than ignoring the whole thing.

Lynn,

4 million plus dogs and cats are put to death every year in shelters because there aren’t enough good homes.

Therefore, every time someone buys a dog or cat from a breeder/pet store, etc., they are stealing a home that a pet on death row could otherwise get (and perpetuating the cruel breeding industry which continues to pump out millions of dogs and cats despite the fact that millions are sitting in shelters on death row).

It make no sense to purposely create more dogs and cats when 4 million plus are being killed every year. Breeders and the people who “buy” animals from them are directly to blame for the deaths of shelter animals.

This is why we say that by buying a pet from a breeder/pet store you are killing a shelter dog.

As prominent public figure, Obama’s contribution to the death of shelter pets is compounded by the fact that many people will imitate his decision and go out and buy purebred portugese water dogs or other specialty breeds which will in turn cause puppy mills and breeders to breed more of these dogs. All the while dogs in shelters die and many of these purebreed dogs and their offspring will find themselves in shelters.

It is a vicious cycle that will only end once people stop buying from breeders and pet stores. The only responsible choice is adoption and always spay/neuter!

I voted for Obama, even though I had reservations over Michelle’s full length fur coat and presiding on the board promoting vivisection at the Chicago hospital. The same hospital that Obama gave money to and then her salary increased by $200,000.
A hypoallergenic dog is a oxymoron. As mentioned, there are too many breeds and mixed breeds that are just as “hypoallergenic” as a Portugese Waterdog. These dogs are at shelters and rescue sites.
Obama presented himself as a caring, humane candidate that cared for people, environment and animals. Yes, we do hold people to a higher standard that profess these ideals when running for president.
Now, it will be the “thing” to do-buying a Portugese Waterdog, instead of adopting. Thousands and thousands of animals would have been adopted, if he had made this simple gesture. Now, thousands will be put to death and purebred Portugese will be bred.
Even if you do not care for the shelter animals, think of the amount of farm animals processed and environmental damage done in the process, just to feed them. Think of those farm animals and their plight.
Think of the tax dollars needed to take care of strays. Think of a more compassionate and humane White House and United States.
People, just THINK.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a rescue Porti? I have been waiting for two years to rescue one and have had no luck. Good for the Obama’s to pick such a great dog.

I posted a comment about this in an article about PETA’s letter to the Obama family. While we probably can’t know for sure, it could be difficult to find one of several hypoallergenic breeds at a shelter, let alone a specific breed. The hypoallergenic quality of this dog breed is very important to the Obamas, so I think people just need to lighten up a bit.

I wouldn’t necessarily call the family’s donation to the Humane Society “damage control”, either. I believe they would have made the donation whether or not they obtained their dog from a shelter. But referring to it in this way makes some negative journalists feel smug, which is apparently all that really matters.