The Obama family certainly seems excited about the upcoming arrival of a dog, hopefully one they can rescue. While I certainly understand their reason for limiting their search to a couple of breeds due to allergy issues, I do have some concerns with the way the whole process is being portrayed.
The family has already announced the "arrival" of their rescue dog in April. Those of us who are active in helping rescue dogs know that there is no such thing as timing in the search. No rescue dog was ever helped on a timetable. The search, particularly as limiting as theirs, can be long and determined. It required lots of looking and interviewing the caregivers. Most of the candidates will probably be a mix-breed (my favorites), and hopefully those candidates will be considered. The purpose of rescuing is to become focused on helping a particular dog. It is not really about having a dog in need come into your life at a pre-determined time.
I do hope the general public who follows in their footsteps will start the process by going to local shelters or searching Petfinder.com. I hope the Obamas will bring a positive light to the adoption process and one lucky dog will be prancing through the White House soon....a real "rags to riches" story!
