On the other hand: If anyone would like a 5-month-old flame-point Siamese kitty, neutered & with all of his shots, please let me know! He's very friendly & a virtual purring machine, but we're all very allergic. :(

I think it's high time we had a First Cat again. Have I mentioned I'm a cat person? ;)

If they want a dog, I do hope they adopt a rescue dog. A poodle would be perfect, as Malia is allergic - my husband is highly allergic to dogs, and he spent an entire evening in a house where a poodle lived, complete with said poodle jumping into his lap, and he had no allergic reaction at all.

"Keeping true to his endearing promise to daughters Malia and Sasha to get them a puppy if elected, the Prez-elect said "We have two criteria that have to be reconciled" - the first is that Malia is allergic to dogs and the second is that Obama wants to rescue a dog from the shelter."-- perezhilton.com

Yay... And, don't hate on Perez -- you may not like him but he hasn't been wrong yet that I know of.

Who knows, I may actually end up liking Obama after all.

I hear the cabinet post of Secretary of Rescue Dogs is still open

Now, that is a post I would accept. :)

I recommend a cocker spaniel... I'm not biased at all ;)

OOOOHHH I want a flame point Siamese soooo bad. But I can't have pets in my apartment. :( I have to wait till I move out to get her (I wanna name her Lily).

I'm with you. Cats are so much easier to care for and they are so loveable!

Who had the last First Cat?

Shih Tzu

I'm thinking Socks Clinton was the most recent First Feline.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ocks_cat_1.JPG

On the poll, I voted for Beagle.

But adopting any kind of dog from a shelter or rescue group would be the niftiest thing. My family did 15 years ago- and she is still with us. She's a Chihuahua probably mixed with something else, but still overwhelmingly Chihuahua.

As many people have pointed out, shelter/rescue dogs are not necessarily mutts. There are many purebreds out there who need homes.

Can't wait to find out about the First Puppy!

:)

This was actually part of a press conference. He was very serious, and said, "and now we have to discuss a very important issue--the puppy issue." He said that his daughter is allergic, so they have to be sensitive to that. He also mentioned that they wanted a rescue dog, so it would "probably be a mutt...like me."

I'm not an animal person at all, but I think it's really cool that he's getting a rescue dog. Plus, his girls are the cutest things and I think they need a puppy.

All kids need a dog :) I got a beautiful purebred Alaskan Malamute from a rescue group. I can't imagine getting a dog from a breeder. I see dogs that I would love to have on petfinder.com all the time!

I'd say dog or cat or other pet. I think the best thing animals teach kids is not only responsibility, but how it feels to have someone completely depend on you for everything.