White House Photowalk, Part II

Bo, the First Dog

"The country at large takes a natural interest in the President's dogs and judges him by the taste and discrimination he show in his selection. Any man who does not like dogs and want them about does not deserve to be in the White House."  

                                       -- American Kennel Club Gazette, circa 1924

I was minding my own business, admiring the spot where the famous (or infamous) "Beer Summit" chairs in the Rose Garden stood, when a bit of a commotion occurred in the distance. Someone ran by me. A celebrity had been spotted. 

Unsure of what was happening, my eyes followed a line of people in the distance. On the other side of the South Lawn, a dog was walking around followed in tow by The Press. It was Bo, the famous White House Dog.

I knew someone from the Administration might make an appearance and I knew the President or his family wouldn't show up. In my perfect world, Joe Biden would make a surprise appearance-- He'd saunter down the stairs flashing his massive, perpetual campaign grin, say something hilarious, shake our hands and smack us on the backs. He'd schmooze for a minute or two, pepper the conversation with an F or a few A's then check his watch. He'd leave us with some sort of salt of the Earth quotable. He's from Scranton, PA and many of my fellow Pennsylvanians consider him the "3rd Senator from PA". Him and I would get along quite well.

So, it was a bit of a wild card, seeing the First Dog walking around. His trainer was with him and he was very well behaved and went between "Super Confident Dog Model" to "Where'd that guy go that's always with me, I don't like all these weird creatures making clicking sounds at me." 


To be perfectly descript, Bo is a good dog that lives in a super nice house. 

I waited patiently, took a "just in case I don't get a great photo"-photo (picture above) and made my way in front of the pooch, sat down, aimed my camera and started adjusting the exposure.

"Well, that's all, we're going in now," the trainer told the White House staffer.

And just like that, I had missed my chance by a few seconds. It wasn't a big deal, I had enough visual evidence to impress my 8-year old daughter, but I was hoping for a better shot. 


There are a number of nice Bo portraits from the Photowalk if you'd like to see more, check out the #whphotowalk or #Bothefirstdog streams on G+.




up next, part III: The Eisenhower Executive Office Building Tour...