Sunny (born June 11, 2012) is a pet dog of the
Obama family, the 44th presidential family of the United States. Sunny is a female
Portuguese Water Dog who was a
First Dog of the United States along with
Bo.
Sunny was introduced via First Lady
Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...
's
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
account on August 19, 2013.
Breeding and original owners
Sunny is a purebred Portuguese Water Dog and was selected from a breeder in the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
area.
Media response
Although Sunny was purchased from a breeder, president of
The Humane Society of the United States, Wayne Pacelle, wrote on a blog post, "As we always say in such circumstances, we hope the Obamas considered adoption or rescue as the first choice in obtaining a pet." He further went on to thank the Obama family for making a contribution to the Humane Society in Sunny's name, and helping reduce the suffering of dogs, although he would like the policies to finally become law.
Incidents
There have been minor incidents involving Sunny. In 2013, at a Military family arts and crafts event, Sunny knocked over a 2-year-old girl while in front of
Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...
. However, the child was unharmed. Sunny was not aggressive towards the child, licking her face. In January 2017, Sunny reportedly bit a
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
visitor on the face, leaving a cut under the visitor's eye, which required stitches. The visitor, who was a teen friend of Malia, was treated by the president's physician Dr.
Ronny Jackson
Ronny Lynn Jackson (born May 4, 1967) is an American physician, politician, and former United States Navy officer who has served as the U.S. representative for since 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, his ...
.
See also
*
Bo
*
United States presidential pets
*
List of individual dogs
The following is a list of individual dogs.
Actors
Advertising
* Alex the dog, Banjo, portrayed Carlos, an Irish Setter-Golden Retriever mix and star of Stroh Brewery Company, Stroh's beer advertising in the 1980s. Also mentioned in the 1 ...
References
External links
*
{{Michelle Obama
2012 animal births
United States presidential dogs
Obama family