A dog-gone disappointing move by the pres..

I was watching the CNN coverage of the Obama's new dog and have to say that I'm disappointed that he didn't adopt a shelter dog.

I'll admit that as a fiscal conservative, I'm not a fan of most of his policies - but if he had adopted a dog, I would have acknowledged it as a good move. Instead, I think he missed an opportunity to do some good for a cause that means a lot to a lot of people, and for animal welfare in general. They got a Portuguese Water Dog based on it's hypoallergenic qualities, but I would imagine that if the Pres really put his mind to finding a shelter one to adopt he could have - PetFinder lists 13 as of my writing of this post. What are the odds that a shelter wouldn't jump at the chance to make one of them have a forever home at the White House (well, OK, a 4 to 8 year home)?

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I kind of agree with this (somewhat tasteless)PETA Ad - and this Best of CraigsList post by a shelter manager. Buying an animal from a breeder or pet store means one less home for a shelter animal. Millions of perfectly healthy animals are killed every year, while people are buying animals that bred specifically to be bought.

The CNN coverage I watched today had someone say "this is America, people can choose to buy an animal or adopt one". That is true, but I do think people should think about the consequences of buying over adopting - and I think a popular president giving some publicity to shelters instead of to breeders would have been a great move (and probably made a lot of pet-owning conservatives think a little more highly of him). Instead, he passed up an opportunity to do good for the easy way out, and I think that is a shame.