It's official, Bo is the name of the first family's puppy who has finally arrived at the White house. The breed as expected is a Portuguese Water Dog, but was not, as had been hoped, adopted from a shelter. Perhaps unsurprisingly, no such puppy was abandoned or given up to a shelter. Instead the Obamas accepted the gift of the puppy from friend and dog lover Sen. Edward Kennedy (top political pedigree!) who owns Bo's mother. The story of Bo's arrival, though eagerly anticipated since Obama's campaign promise to his two daughters, was supposed to be a scoop story for the Washington Post. Needless to say the news leaked out on the internet before anyone had time to print it! Although Bo is not a shelter or rescue dog, the White House will in fact be his second home. He had belonged to another family but didn't get along with their other dogs, according to a story in the Chicago SunTimes by Lynn Sweet.  Sen. Ted Kennedy heard about the difficulty with the 6 month old pup, and as he wanted to give the Obama girls, Malia and Sasha a present, the timing was perfect.  BO OBama has already charmed the world's press whith his cute white paws and fluffy hypoallergenic coat, he does not seem camera shy, and has taken to the White House lawn with gusto... he was carefully vetted with a trial day in March before being welcomed as the First Dog. His place at the heart of the Obama family seems assured and Bo has already made a good start in the job by taking over the official White House Blog page with a picture of him running down a White House corridor alongside the President! The conclusion of a not so shaggy dog story is a happy one for Bo and his new family, as for the shelters, Obama has said he will make a donation, let's hope it is large and loud, to keep them in the news...this would surely be The First Dog's first policy!