Bo (born October 9, 2008) is the current pet of the Obama family, the First Family of the United States, and is a neutered male Portuguese Water Dog, or Portie. President Barack Obama and his family chose the dog after months of speculation about the breed and identity of the animal. The final choice was made in part because Malia Obama's allergies dictated a need for a hypoallergenic breed, although no hypoallergenic breed is 100% safe for allergics. The White House has referred to him as the First Dog, a term also used in the media going back through several administrations.

The Portuguese Water Dog is a fairly rare breed; 48 entrants for Portuguese Water Dogs were made to England's Crufts competition in 2009 and the author of "The New Complete Portuguese Water Dog," Kitty Braund, believes number of Porties in North America to be about 50,000. Although some breeders claim they are a hypoallergenic dog breed, there is no scientific evidence to support this claim.

At his first press conference as President-elect, Obama was questioned by reporters about which breed the family was looking to acquire; he replied, "our preference would be to get a shelter dog, but, obviously, a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me." He also noted "Malia is allergic, so it has to be hypoallergenic. There are a number of breeds that are hypoallergenic"

Since the orignial photo opportunities, which the Obama and the media played to the hilt, the poor dog has been handed off to White House staff. White House Horticulturist Dale Haney and other staff actually take care of the dog. The word horticulture comes from the Latin root for pooper-scooper, and means "You did WHAT on the White House lawn? Portugese Water Dog Club spokesperson said, "It was clearly just another publicity stunt and it is despicable to use a puppy and then just cast him aside."