December 14, 2008
Posted: December 14th, 2008 05:09 PM ET

From
Vice President-elect Joe Biden is getting this German Shepherd puppy when he moves to Washington in January.
Vice President-elect Joe Biden is getting this German Shepherd puppy when he moves to Washington in January.

(CNN) – While the country is fixated on what kind of dog President-elect Barack Obama’s family will get when they move into the White House, his Vice President-elect Joe Biden quietly picked out a puppy of his own last week.

Biden’s wife, Jill, promised the future VP a dog if he and Obama got elected. Biden found the as-yet-unnamed pup, a three-month old male German Shepherd, in a breeder’s kennel in southeastern Pennsylvania, the area’s Daily Local News reports.

See more pictures of Biden's new puppy.

Biden revealed his wife’s pledge on Election Day, telling reporters flying with him to Chicago that she had first promised him a dog if he was elected president, and when his primary bid failed, if he was elected vice president. Mrs. Biden even taped pictures of dogs on the seatback in front of Biden on the plane, according to the report.

“I’ve always had a big dog my whole life, even the time I was a kid. I’ve had German Shepherds and Great Danes and Labs and Golden Retrievers,” Biden said on November 4. “So with Barack inquiring about would I be willing to get vetted, Jill said, ‘I’ll make you a deal: if you get the vice presidency and get elected, you can get a dog.’

“I know what kind I want, I don’t know what kind I’m going to get yet,” he added before reiterating that the ticket hadn’t won yet.

Biden spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander said the vice president-elect had owned three German shepherds in his life, “so he's familiar with the breed and its personality."

“He's excited to bring it home when it gets a little older and has promised that his grandchildren can name it after the New Year,” Alexander said.

Biden was reportedly accompanied to breeder Linda Brown’s kennel by New Castle County Police K-9 coordinator Mark Tobin, who will train the puppy for the next six weeks before delivering it to the Bidens when they move into the vice presidential residence in January.

Brown told Delaware’s News Journal that the puppy is “the pick of the litter.”

Tobin added, “He's well-tempered, people-friendly and social…It's just a happy-go-lucky puppy."

Filed under: Barack Obama • Joe Biden • Transition 2008


subscribe RSS Icon
About The Ticker

The latest political news from CNN's Best Political Team, with campaign coverage, 24-7. Sign up for our twice daily Ticker emails. Got a news tip or feedback? For complete political coverage, bookmark CNNPolitics.com.

CNN=Politics Screensaver

CNN=Politics ScreensaverTap into the power of The Situation Room. Download this powerful new tool that keeps you posted on the latest political news from the campaign trail.
Download (4.1 MB, PC only)

twitter
hambypCNN: RT @politicalticker "Palin aide downplays use of private jet" - http://bit.ly/5xay1a
Updated: Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:22:43 -0800
@wolfblitzercnn: We have some good questions for White House adviser David Axelrod today in The SitRoom on Obama's Afghan strategy.
Updated: Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:15:47 -0800
@HornickCNN: Will Obama's war become his Vietnam? http://bit.ly/7UdCpi
Updated: Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:32:32 -0800
@edhenrycnn: http://twitpic.com/rq9kn - New York Air Guard
Updated: Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:21:26 -0800
@edhenrycnn: http://twitpic.com/rq7dq - Landing in beautiful upstate New York for monumental moment in young Obama presidency
Updated: Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:04:41 -0800
Categories
Powered by WordPress.com VIP