The First Family have finally decided on a dog breed — Michelle Obama has said they’ve narrowed down their search to a Portuguese water dog.

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This is so sweet: Actor Mickey Rourke’s beloved 18-year-old chihuahua Loki passed away suddenly last week, just a day after Mickey had told a gossip rag that he planned to take the little dog to the Oscars with him.

Mickey found a way to bring Loki with him just the same with a sweet little picture pendant necklace, which he wore to both the Academy Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards. During a red carpet interview he said he’d trade in any award for more time with little Loki:

“It’s bittersweet. I said to myself I’d rather have Loki for another two years than an Oscar. And I told her that. But she stayed as long as she could, you know,” he said sadly. “She’s the love of my life. She made it until six days ago. She left me at a time where, after 18 years, she knew I’d be all right.”

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go cuddle a chihuahua of my own.

The new First Family have narrowed down their choices for the type of breed they’d like their dog to be, either a Labradoodle or a Portugese water hound.

President-elect Obama said they’re going to wait a little bit after the inauguration before checking out shelters, and told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that “This has been tougher than finding a commerce secretary.”

Have you had a chance to see Marley & Me yet? If so (and even if you haven’t yet, it’s still cute!) make sure you pick up your own copy of the 2009 calendar!

For January only when you pick up a bag of specially marked Purina Dog or Puppy Chow you’ll get a calendar featuring 12 behind-the-scenes pictures of the movie, including Marley, the adorable Labrador Retriever.

Click on the image over to the right to see a bigger example of what the calendar looks like. Isn’t that cute?

It’s always so sad when a pet dies. The Bush family is mourning the death of their beloved black cat, India, this week.

The 18 year-old (wow!) female cat died Sunday at the White House.

“The President, Mrs. Bush, Barbara, and Jenna are deeply saddened by the passing of their cat India,” the office of First Lady Laura Bush said in a statement on the White House Web site.

“India was a beloved member of the Bush family for almost two decades. She will be greatly missed.”

At 9 years old, the Bush girls named the cat “India” after Ruben Sierra, a former major league baseball player whose nickname was “El Indio.” The Bush family have two other pets, Barney and Miss Beazley, both Scottish Terriers.

It’s the end of 2008 which means it’s time for a look back on the last year!

Below I’ve listed a few of the most popular posts for the Food Bowl - did I include yours?

• Can dogs read our emotions?
• PediPaws nail trimmer review
• Pets in the White House
• Uno the beagle makes history
• Rachael Ray feeds your pets (and then launches Nutrish, her own line of dog food)
• Toxic and Non-Toxic plants for pets
• Make your own Frosty Paws ice cream
• Pets and vacation preparation
• Cat crackers
• Princess Chunk, one fat cat
• Toy ball causes severe damage to Chai the dog
• Smartest and dumbest dog breeds
• Ratchet gets to come to the US

[image: flickr]

Vice President-Elect Biden’s German Shepherd puppy finally has a name! The upcoming VP let his grandkids name the dog, and they chose Champ.

Biden says the name is special to him since it’s what his father used to call him as a child.

Unfortunately over the last several weeks rumors have run rampant that the breeder Biden purchased the puppy from has several violations, though Biden’s rep has said the allegations are false. It’s always something, right? However, Biden has also said his family plans to adopt a second dog from an animal shelter a little later.

Vice President-elect Biden is bringing a three-month-old male German Shepherd puppy to Washington. He picked out the puppy from a breeder in Philadelphia yesterday.

Over the next few weeks the puppy will be housebroken and trained before making its way to live with the Vice President and his wife Jill after next month’s inauguration. Biden told the breeder that he’ll be letting his grandchildren pick out the pup’s name.

Still no word on what kind of dog will be joining the Obama family!

One of the “most important issues” that President-elect Obama spoke about in today’s news conference was what kind of dog his family plans to get!

He said there are two major factors, the first being that daughter Malia is allergic and they’d need a so-called “hypoallergenic” dog, and the second being that they’d like to get a shelter dog. However, the two don’t usually mesh well together (you can’t usually get too specific about what dog you’d like from a shelter) so they’re still weighing options.

One of the most popular hypoallergenic dogs being talked about is a poodle, which don’t shed as much and which the family has apparently expressed interest in in the past.

What do you think? What kind of dog would the new first family get?

Teen queen Miley Cyrus was really surprised during her Sweet 16 Birthday Bash at Disney earlier this month when her mom Tish brought out a maltipoo for Miley! She’s named the puppy Sophie.