Barack Obama got very bad news to share with the public.
Former President Barack Obama said the family had lost “a true friend and loyal companion.”
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For more than a decade, Bo was a constant, gentle presence in our lives — happy to see us on our good days, our bad days, and everyday in between,” Mr. Obama wrote on Twitter.Credit…
Bo, the Portuguese water dog who became the first presidential pet in the Obama White House, romping in the halls of power, died on Saturday.
“For more than a decade, Bo was a constant, gentle presence in our lives — happy to see us on our good days, our bad days, and everyday in between,” Mr. Obama wrote on Twitter.
“He tolerated all the fuss that came with being in the White House, had a big bark but no bite, loved to jump in the pool in the summer, was unflappable with children, lived for scraps around the dinner table, and had great hair.”
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Bo arrived at the White House as a 6-month-old puppy in April 2009, a gift from Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts and his wife, Victoria, to the first children, Malia and Sasha Obama.
The girls named the dog Bo because their cousins had a cat with the same name and because Mrs. Obama’s father was nicknamed Diddley, after the musician Bo Diddley.
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Right away, the dog was an object of national fascination, the latest in a long line of four-footed White House occupants that included President Lyndon B. Johnson’s beagles, Him and Her; President Ronald Reagan’s Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Rex; President Bill Clinton’s cat, Socks; and President George W. Bush’s Scottish terrier, Barney.
President Biden resumed the tradition in January with his two German shepherds, Champ and Major, after President Donald J. Trump’s term ended as the first in decades without any pets living full time at the residence. Major was recently sent for training after a series of biting episodes.
Bo was known for cavorting on the South Lawn in front of the White House press corps, barking at news conferences and attracting fan mail from children across the country.
