Bo: In the annals of presidential canines, Bo will surely go down as one of the biggest camera hogs. Fala, Checkers, Buddy and Barney? They’ve got nothing on this fluffy, sedate and hypoallergenic pooch. And this year, DCist finally got up close and personal with Bo during a tour of the White House grounds. And then we sent him some birthday wishes. And then the White House manipulated us even further with a holiday video of Bo reviewing a Christmas tree. OK, OK, Bo is clearly the most web-friendly member of the Obama family, with nearly 90,000 clicks generated on DCist. But we’re still holding out hope that 2013 will be the year of Champ Biden.

A few minutes into to the press walkthrough of the White House’s spring garden tour, the assembled reporters and photographers lost all interest in the executive shrubbery. Why? Well, we got a special visit from easily the most photogenic member of the first family.

As we ambled down the path circling the South Lawn, a fluffy black mass with white feet trotted to the front of the pack. It was Bo, the Obama family’s Portuguese Water Dog, out for an early-morning run. We managed to get a few good shots of Bo before he scampered back inside before the public arrived. And we even got to pet him. Bo is perhaps the best-natured high-profile pet we’ve ever ever encountered.

Filed Under: bo, obama family, portuguese water dog, spring garden tour, white houe,