Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Should There be a Border Collie in the White House?

We watched the inauguration today.

Ranger was very excited about it!




Beth was snuggled in her favorite lazy chair ready to watch.



Bonnie was really upset we cancelled our walk for this...



Tyler didn't care about anything, other than his bone...



They were all happy with President Obama’s speech, specifically the part where he was addressing our environment & transitioning to alternative fuels.

Beth brought up an interesting question. She asked if the multiple piles of dog flops in the back yard were causing greenhouse gasses.

I reassured them that was something they didn’t need to worry about. The only green gas in this house comes out of Ranger’s backside.

That seemed to satisfy them. However, Ranger was not amused.



The biggest concern they had was that they didn’t see a dog anywhere. They all asked me if the new First Family has a dog? I told them that they were planning on adopting a new puppy soon.

They all felt it should be a Border Collie, since they are the smartest breed and would be an excellent addition to the Obama family. I explained to them that a Border Collie most likely wouldn’t be happy in the White House. To illustrate my point I asked them if they could imagine a Border Collie in Congress? Beth told me that would be a good thing. She said a Border Collie could herd them all up and get them moving in the right direction. She said she would take care of any future filibuster with a nice firm grip in the arse, thus solving that dilemma.

Beth made some very good points. Sadly, I reminded them that Border Collies are not ‘hypoallergenic’.

The one point that came up repeatedly in our discourse was they were deeply concerned that the new First Family adopts a rescue dog. I explained to them that President Obama already explained he wished to adopt a shelter dog because as he said “many shelter dogs are mutts like me”.

They told me they will support the new First Dog's administration regardless breeding, heritage, pedigree or lack thereof.

That made me very proud of them. Much in the way I feel pride in or nation right now.

5 comments:

Fenway said...

Hypoallergenic or not, despite our relentless shedding, I firmly believe The White House needs a border collie in residence.

Imagine how a BC could work with the Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security. The President could have a most vigilant creature by his side always, should he choose a border collie.

In fact, check my blog tomorrow to see how I am ingratiating myself with the President!

BCxFour said...

Oh I cant wait to see!!! You make some very valid points!

BorderWars said...

No way. Worst possible choice for a dog for the White House. The Obamas are inexperienced with dogs, let alone the breed, don't exactly have the time needed to do a Border Collie justice, and have much much bigger fish to fry than what would essentially be adopting another child. I wrote a long snarky post about it a while ago. Veto that idea.

As an externality, the Border Collie breed already dodged a major bullet with having a super celebrity adopting the breed leading to ruin. Most people attribute Queen Victoria's love of the (Rough) collie with leading to that breed's popularity... and we all know what those dogs look like now.

I contend that her dogs were actually Border Collies, not Lassie Collies, and the misconception has probably been a very good thing for Border Collies.

Rockstar and Kipp said...

Well I agree with Fenway. Is there any other dog other than a bc? :) But I like that there isn't going to be a BC in the White House. Too many bc's are popping up in movies and tv commercials and so many people are getting them and not quite knowing what they're in for. Although I bet the White House has a huge backyard!!

And just to let Bonnie know, she can come to Colorado any time and I will take for for as many walks as she would like!

Samantha ~ Holly and Zac ~ said...

I love the first and last photo's of Ranger!

All your dogs are georgeous.

Okay back to the topic post, hehe .... I guess i agree with Rockstar/Kipp - i think If there were a Border Collie in the White house, like anywhere in the public eye it might start a trend for people to get them. A bit like the Dalmation trend. Which could lead to many Border Collies ending up in shelters when the owners can't cope with them.