白宮第一狗選定葡萄牙水犬
Ending months of intense speculation and secrecy over the type of family dog that the Obamas would get for the White House, they have settled on a six-month-old Portuguese water dog provided by Senator Ted Kennedy.
The dog – which the Obama's two young daughters have named Bo – charmed the family at a secret meeting at the White House a few weeks ago, according to the Washington Post.
The shaggy breed was always a strong contender as Malia Obama, 10, suffers from allergies.
Portuguese water dogs, which do not shed so much hair, are said to be less aggravating to people with allergies.
Mr Kennedy is a big fan of Portuguese water dogs and owns three himself. His wife, Victoria, chatted about their virtues in frequent phone calls with Michelle Obama, said White House sources.
According to some reports, Bo was originally named Charlie and comes from the same stock as the Kennedy dogs.
The puppy had been living with another family but it didn't work out and the Kennedys got him for the Obamas.
Throughout the day on Saturday, celebrity websites and bloggers were abuzz with rumors of the first family's selection of a Portuguese water dog; one site even claimed it had pictures of the future first pet.
The president had embraced the frenzy: "Oh, man, now, that's top secret," Obama joked on Friday to reporters.
President Obama said he promised a puppy to his two children during the election campaign.
Officials would not say when the dog would actually take up residence at the White House.
The children chose the name because their cousins have a cat called Bo and because their mother's father was nicknamed Diddley.
歷經數月的猜測和保密，備受關注的白宮第一犬終於揭曉，參議員泰德•肯尼迪贈送的一隻六個月大的葡萄牙水犬被幸運選中。
據《華盛頓郵報》報道，這隻小狗被奧巴馬的兩個女兒取名爲Bo，它於數週前在白宮的一次祕密會面上引起了第一家庭的興趣。
由於奧巴馬的大女兒、10歲的瑪麗亞是過敏體質，所以這種捲毛的葡萄牙水犬一直是個有力的競爭者。
葡萄牙水犬不怎麼掉毛，對於過敏體質的人來說相對安全一些。
肯尼迪議員很喜歡葡萄牙水犬，自己共養了三隻。據白宮消息人士介紹，肯尼迪的夫人維多利亞曾在多次的電話交談中向第一夫人米歇爾•奧巴馬談及這種狗的優良特性。
據一些報道稱，Bo原被取名爲Charlie，它與肯尼迪家的狗來自同一犬舍。
此前，Bo被另一個家庭所領養，但因相處不夠“融洽”，所以肯尼迪將他送給了奧巴馬一家。
上週六一整天，名人網站和博客上瘋傳第一家庭選定葡萄牙水犬爲白宮第一犬的消息，其中一家網站甚至稱其有白宮未來第一犬的照片。
而奧巴馬於上週五在接受記者採訪時迴應稱：“哦，天！現在這可是個最高機密。”
奧巴馬曾在總統競選期間許諾兩個女兒給她們養一隻小狗。
但有關官員未透露第一犬具體將於何時入住白宮。
奧巴馬的兩個女兒之所以給小狗取名爲Bo，是因爲她們的堂姐妹有一隻貓叫Bo，而且她們外祖父的暱稱叫Diddley
Vocabulary:
shaggy: covered with or having long, rough hair（有絨毛的，毛髮蓬鬆的）
aggravating: making worse or more heinous（使病情等惡化，加劇的）
