The people have spoken. The change we need is a Labradoodle.
That's the preference of FOXNews.com readers who answered a poll that posed a simple question: Should the Obamas adopt a Labradoodle or Portuguese water dog to be the next "first pet"?
Of the 1,878 respondents who voted, 59 percent recommended the Obamas fetch a Labradoodle, while 41 percent said they preferred the underdog.
President-elect Barack Obama said Sunday that the presidential pooch will be one of the two breeds, because both are non-shedding dogs -- a trait that is important because his 10-year-old daughter, Malia, is allergic.
"We're closing in on it," Obama said on ABC's "This Week," adding, "This has been tougher than finding a commerce secretary."http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/13/fox-poll-labradoodle-favored-portuguese-water-dog-pet/

Shelters deal with influx of Christmas-gift pets

VIRGINIA BEACH
Cocoa, a 4-month-old black pit bull puppy, was purchased from a pet store a few weeks before Christmas by what was to be her new family.
A month later, she was in a cage at a Virginia Beach shelter with a broken leg, waiting to be taken to another new home. Too much rough play with the family's two other dogs, the shelter staff was told. Cocoa just wasn't going to work out.
It's that time of year again. After Easter, animal shelters see an influx of chicks and bunnies. In the weeks after Christmas, shelters across the nation brace for a slew of animals like Cocoa: cute puppies and kittens picked up for the holiday season. Continued