The White House dog is finally here! Thank goodness, because I was really starting to worry about Malia and Sasha. They’re such good girls, and they had been waiting so patiently for their dad to get them a puppy, but Dad kept changing the date. Michelle Obama confirmed last month that the dog would arrive sometime around the Easter holiday, and President Obama told Jay Leno that the dog would come after the presidential visits in Europe.

Initially, the reports indicted that the new puppy would arrive at the White House on Tuesday, and that Sen. Ted Kennedy would formally give the dog over to the Obamas. But the Obamas pulled a fast one, and brought the 6-month-old puppy to the White House this weekend. It’s a boy dog named Bo, and he’s a Portuguese Water Dog, the favorite breed of Ted Kennedy. The Washington Post (story via People Magazine) says that Malia and Sasha named the dog, and that the early reports of the name “Charlie” were wrong. People Magazine has more:

Forget about hunting for Easter eggs. The president’s daughters have a much better treat in store this holiday weekend: a new dog!

After months of anticipation, a 6-month-old Portuguese Water Dog named Bo is now calling the White House home.

First, the name. According to the Washington Post , which published confirmation of the White House dog news Sunday, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, chose the name because their cousins have a cat named Bo and because Mrs. Obama’s father was nicknamed Diddley, as in Bo Diddley. The dog is a gift from Sen. Ted Kennedy, who owns three dogs of the same breed, known for high spirits and said to be a good fit for kids with allergies (such as Malia). Kennedy had been lobbying the Obamas to get a Portuguese Water Dog (or PWD) for months.

The newspaper reports that the Obama girls are delighted – they’ve been waiting anxiously since their dad promised them a dog during his presidential campaign – and that the family, first-time dog owners, are still deciding where Bo will sleep and who will walk and feed him. Under a veil of secrecy, the Post reports, Bo actually made a trip to the White House earlier to meet the family. “The Meeting,” as it was called by staffers, was a success.

But the highly-orchestrated canine delivery procedure didn’t go without a few hitches.

First, news began to circulate that a Portuguese Water Dog by the name of Charlie had been selected for the First Family after a Web site called firstdogcharlie.com posted the information, and a photo, Saturday. The White House called the photo “bogus” and told news organizations (including PEOPLE) that the First Dog would make its debut Tuesday – although Bo, it is now apparent, was already at the White House over the weekend.

Then there are the questions about the dog’s origins that are sure to bedevil the Administration. The Obamas originally discussed rescuing a dog from a shelter. But valuable and highly-bred PWDs rarely show up at shelters. Bo is said to have lived with a family that decided not to keep him, but that won’t likely satisfy animal rescue advocates who wanted the Obamas to take in a stray.

To help ease disappointment, according to the Washington Post, the family will make a donation to the District of Columbia Humane Society.

From People Magazine

People were going to complain about something, no matter what kind of dog the Obamas got. Personally, I’m a big believer in rescue animals (my dog’s a rescue) but I’m not offended that the Obamas needed a certain kind of dog to take into account Malia’s allergies. Plus, the dog is technically a gift from Sen. Kennedy, so it’s not like the First Family shelled out thousands of dollars for a fancy purebred dog. Although who knows how much Kennedy paid for his “gift”.

It should be mentioned, this is not the first purebred dog that was given to a sitting president. Just in the last administration, former governor Christy Todd-Whitman gave President Bush a little Scottish terrier as a gift in the first year – and Barney ended up being one of the most popular members of the Bush Administration! After Barney, President Bush grew so fond of the breed that he gave Laura her own Scottish terrier puppy – Miss Beasley.

Photos courtesy of WhiteHouse.gov.