America's top dog has made it clear to the first dog that he was welcome to visit him in the Oval Office, but the presidential bed in the White House would be out of bounds.
President Barack Obama drew the lines as Bo, the newest and only four-legged occupant of the White House, made his much-anticipated Washington debut on Tuesday.
For once, about 100 members of the Fourth Estate who had turned out to record the arrival of the first dog at the executive mansion, forgot about the economic crisis or the situation in Pakistan and switched to dog talk.
Will Bo have the privileges of Barney, President George W. Bush's dog, who was allowed in the Oval Office, asked a scribe. "Of course," Obama replied.
Will he sleep in a bed?
"Not in my bed," the president said.
The first dog will have some other privileges too. "We all have to take turns walking the dog," said Obama as he, First Lady Michelle and First Daughters Malia and Sasha scampered around with Bo on the South Lawn. "We 're trying to be responsible dog owners," he said.
"I finally got a friend," Obama quipped to reporters, one of whom was once bit by Bush's Barney, though some say not without provocation. Bo had been a campaign promise to Obama's daughters which the president revealed to the world on the night of his Nov 4 election victory.
{{/usCountry}}"I finally got a friend," Obama quipped to reporters, one of whom was once bit by Bush's Barney, though some say not without provocation. Bo had been a campaign promise to Obama's daughters which the president revealed to the world on the night of his Nov 4 election victory.
{{/usCountry}}A six-month-old Portuguese water dog, Bo's arrival ends more than two months of heated speculation that rivalled many of Obama's more serious policy announcements.
Bo is the first dog owned by the Obamas. Malia has allergies, which limited their choices to hypoallergenic breeds like the Portuguese water dog and the Labradoodle.