Michelle Obama: First dog arriving in April

First lady Michelle Obama tells People magazine that the target date for the arrival of the family pet is after her daughters’ spring break trip in April, though 7-year-old Sasha is convinced the dog is coming April 1.

“So Sasha says ‘April 1st.’ I said, ‘April.’ She says, ‘April 1st.’ It’s like, April!” said Mrs. Obama.

The Obama girls — Sasha and 10-year-old Malia — attend the private Sidwell Friends school, which has spring break March 20-29 and a day off for students on April 13.

The family wants a rescue Portuguese Water Dog who is the appropriate age and match.

“Temperamentally they’re supposed to be pretty good,” Mrs. Obama said. “From the size perspective, they’re sort of middle of the road — it’s not small, but it’s not a huge dog. And the folks that we know who own them have raved about them. So that’s where we’re leaning.”

The first couple and their daughters have been going back and forth on possible names. Among the two Mrs. Obama mentioned — and nixed — were Frank and Moose.

“”Oh, the names are really bad. I don’t even want to mention it, because there are names floating around and they’re bad,” she said. “You listen and you go — like, I think, Frank was one of them. Frank! Moose was another one of them. Moose. I said, well, what if the dog isn’t a moose? Moose. I’m like, no, come on, let’s work with the names a little bit.”

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Portuguese Water Dog
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Portuguese Water Dogs (PWD) are a breed of water dog similar to poodles. Portuguese Water Dogs once existed all along Portugal’s coast, where they were taught to herd fish into fishermen’s nets, to retrieve lost tackle or broken nets, and to act as couriers from ship to ship, or ship to shore. Portuguese Water Dogs rode in bobbing fishing trawlers as they worked their way from the warm Atlantic waters of Portugal to the frigid fishing waters off the coast of Iceland where the fleets caught codfish to bring home.

In Portugal, the breed is called Cão d’Água (pronounced “Kown-d’Ahgwa”; literally “water dog”). In its native land, the dog is also known as the Portuguese Fishing Dog (Cão Pescador Português). Cão de Água de Pêlo Ondulado is the name given the wavy-haired variety, and Cão de Água de Pêlo Encaracolado is the name for the curly-coated variety.

The Portuguese Water Dog is a fairly rare breed; only 15 entrants for Portuguese Water Dogs were made to England’s Crufts competition in 2002, although their personality and non-shedding qualities have made them more popular in recent years.”