President Obama and his daughter Sasha welcome Bo to the White House.

Ending months of intense speculation¹ and secrecy² over the type of family dog that the Obamas would get for the White House, they have settled on a six-month-old Portuguese³ water dog provided by Senator Ted⁴ Kennedy.

The dog – which the Obama's two young daughters have named Bo – charmed the family at a secret meeting at the White House a few weeks ago, according to the Washington Post.

The shaggy breed was always a strong contender as Malia Obama, 10, suffers from allergies⁵.

Portuguese water dogs, which do not shed so much hair, are said to be less aggravating⁶ to people with allergies.

Mr Kennedy is a big fan of Portuguese water dogs and owns three himself. His wife, Victoria, chatted about their virtues⁷ in frequent phone calls with Michelle Obama, said White House sources.

According to some reports, Bo was originally named Charlie and comes from the same stock as the Kennedy dogs.

The puppy had been living with another family but it didn't work out and the Kennedys got him for the Obamas.

Throughout the day on Saturday, celebrity⁸ websites and bloggers were abuzz with rumors⁹ of the first family's selection of a Portuguese water dog; one site even claimed it had pictures of the future first pet.

The president had embraced the frenzy¹⁰: "Oh, man, now, that's top secret," Obama joked on Friday to reporters.

President Obama said he promised a puppy to his two children during the election campaign.

Officials would not say when the dog would actually take up residence at the White House.

The children chose the name because their cousins have a cat called Bo and because their mother's father was nicknamed Diddley.

历经数月的猜测和保密，备受关注的白宫第一犬终于揭晓，参议员泰德•肯尼迪赠送的一只六个月大的葡萄牙水犬被幸运选中。

据《华盛顿邮报》报道，这只小狗被奥巴马的两个女儿取名为Bo，它于数周前在白宫的一次秘密会面上引起了第一家庭的兴趣。

由于奥巴马的大女儿、10岁的玛丽亚是过敏体质，所以这种卷毛的葡萄牙水犬一直是个有力的竞争者。

葡萄牙水犬不怎么掉毛，对于过敏体质的人来说相对安全一些。

肯尼迪议员很喜欢葡萄牙水犬，自己共养了三只。据白宫消息人士介绍，肯尼迪的夫人维多利亚曾在多次的电话交谈中向第一夫人米歇尔•奥巴马谈及这种狗的优良特性。

据一些报道称，Bo原被取名为Charlie，它与肯尼迪家的狗来自同一犬舍。

此前，Bo被另一个家庭所领养，但因相处不够“融洽”，所以肯尼迪将他送给了奥巴马一家。

上周六一整天，名人网站和博客上疯传第一家庭选定葡萄牙水犬为白宫第一犬的消息，其中一家网站甚至称其有白宫未来第一犬的照片。

而奥巴马于上周五在接受记者采访时回应称：“哦，天！现在这可是个最高机密。”

奥巴马曾在总统竞选期间许诺两个女儿给她们养一只小狗。

但有关官员未透露第一犬具体将于何时入住白宫。

奥巴马的两个女儿之所以给小狗取名为Bo，是因为她们的堂姐妹有一只猫叫Bo，而且她们外祖父的昵称叫Diddley（译者注：与摇滚乐先驱、格莱美终身成就奖获得者波•迪德雷同姓）。

Vocabulary:

shaggy: covered with or having long, rough hair（有绒毛的，毛发蓬松的）

aggravating: making worse or more heinous（使病情等恶化，加剧的）