Who will be appointed Canine-in-Chief?

"Aarf Aarf! Adopt Adopt!"

Our nation's shelter-dog advocates lobby for a mixed-breed shelter mutt

As we heard in his acceptance speech, President-elect Barack Obama is making good on a very important campaign promise: giving his daughters, Malia and Sasha, the dog they've been lobbying for since well before the historic campaign started. But who will take the title of First Dog? Pet pundits are predicting a canine candidate with humble roots and a mixed ethnic heritage, not unlike the President-elect himself.

In late September, Michelle Obama revealed that after the election, her family would be adopting a dog from an animal shelter. Although the American Kennel Club  was gunning for the Obamas to buy a purebred dog, the family listened when animal-protection groups described the pet overpopulation crisis at our country's animal shelters. Now more than ever, mutts need a high-profile advocate as our nation's shelter system struggles to solve the problem of animal homelessness, and the Obamas plan to be part of the solution.

It's very likely the Obamas' decision to adopt rather than buy a dog was influenced primarily by their friend and supporter Oprah Winfrey, who announced in April that, as a result of witnessing puppy-mill atrocities exposed on her show, all of her future dogs would come not from breeders but from animal shelters. Puppy mills  supply pet stores with dogs, so buying pups merely supports this cruel industry, in which mother dogs are terribly abused.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals  claims to have had a hand in the Obamas' commendable decision to adopt. In a letter sent in July, PETA president Ingrid E. Newkirk wrote, "Senator, no one needs to tell you that this country is proud to be a melting pot, and that there is something deeply wrong and elitist about wanting only a purebred dog. Millions of Great American Mutts – the dog that should be our national dog – are set to die in our nation's extremely overcrowded pounds and shelters for lack of good homes. … Adopting an animal not only saves a life, but demonstrates compassion, and the companion animal overpopulation crisis deserves attention from all Americans. Every animal purchased from a breeder or pet shop takes a home away from a needy animal at an animal shelter, waiting and hoping for a chance at the American dream of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

Animal advocates are hoping that the Obamas will select a shelter dog of color. Sadly, statistics show that black dogs are always the last to be adopted. But with high-profile champions in the White House, that unfortunate prejudice could very well be history.

Incidentally, adopting mutts is a grand presidential tradition that has historically crossed party lines; Commanders-in-Chief with beloved mixed-breed dogs have included Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Grant, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, Teddy Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson.