A presidential decision: a Portuguese Water Dog

Bookmark this story:

The Obamas will probably be getting a Portuguese Water Dog like this one, but don't call him Frank.

We know a lot of PolitiFact readers are counting on us for the latest in the Obama dog search, and we think we have what qualifies as breaking news.

The dog is coming in April.

Under the breathless online headline "Michelle Obama: White House Dog Coming Soon!" People magazine broke this news in an exclusive interview with Michelle Obama, who "leaned in and confided" the scoop that the family pet would arrive after her daughters' return from a family spring break trip.

More news: Michelle Obama told People the family is looking to rescue a Portuguese Water Dog. That's not good news for those who were backing a Labradoodle, the other breed on the Obamas' short list.

And even more news: Two potential names being kicked around by the Obama family — Frank and Moose — have been nixed. "I'm like, no, come on, let's work with the names a little bit," Michelle Obama said. The full interview will hit the newsstands in People' s Feb. 27 editions.

Lastly, we can't help but note a little irony from our last update on this promise, when we cited a Jan. 10, 2009, interview in which Barack Obama, then president-elect, told George Stephanopoulos that narrowing down the breed of their new dog "has been tougher than finding a commerce secretary." That was a joke about his first pick for commerce secretary, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who withdrew due to a grand jury investigation into allegations of improper awarding of contracts. More trouble followed in February when Obama tapped Republican Sen. Judd Gregg, who stepped down after citing "irresolvable conflicts" with the Obama agenda. Obama announced his third stab on Feb. 25: former Washington Gov. Gary Locke.

No word on whether the dog vetting process will include a review of tax returns.

Stay tuned.