Dog days ahead for the Obamas

In case you hadn't heard, Barack Obama's daughters are getting a dog. They were promised one after the election regardless of the outcome and, as the president-elect noted at his first news conference, the subject is generating "more interest on our website than just about anything." He said this in the same somber tone with which he also discussed Cabinet appointments and Iranian nuclear proliferation, referring to "criteria that need to be reconciled" (the need for a hypoallergenic dog and a preference for a shelter dog) and calling it "a pressing issue in the Obama household."

And many, many others. Type "Obama, new puppy" into Google and nearly half a million search results appear, including more than 3,000 news stories and blog posts with such headings as "Cuteness Overload" and, from Treehugger.com, "Will the Obama's [sic] New Puppy Be Green?"

As for all that talk about how an Obama victory would repair America's image throughout the world, the puppy back-channel is already open. Last week, the Friends of Peruvian Hairless Dog Assn. offered the Obamas a 4-month-old pedigreed Peruvian H.D. named Machu Picchu. The good news: It doesn't cause allergies; the potentially less-good news: It's completely bald.

Back here at home, dozens of experts and animal groups are weighing in on the matter. The American Kennel Club, whose survey last summer determined that a poodle would be the best dog for the Obamas (poodles have hair, not fur), is now offering links to poodle rescue groups. The Humane Society of the United States has an online thank-you card to the Obamas, with more than 4,000 signatures praising the family's desire to adopt from a shelter (it's also encouraging the Bidens to follow suit).

Meanwhile, Cesar Milan, known as the "Dog Whisperer," offered tips for the Obamas in that well-known animal training guide, People magazine. His most sapient observation: "The dog won't know he's Barack Obama and won the presidency."

Don't be so sure. Considering the amount of CNN my dog has been exposed to lately, I'm willing to bet he knows who won.

The real question though, is how long the fixation on the presidential pup will continue -- reports say the Obamas won't actually be getting their pet until the spring -- and why it appears to have taken on about the same level of importance as, say, the global economic crisis.