Inside Info On "First Puppy" Bo!

It was Washington's biggest mystery for weeks: What kind of dog will the Obamas choose?

The Early Show's resident veterinarian, Dr. Debbye Turner Bell, shared the long-awaited answer Monday from Boyd, Texas, where the new first puppy was born.

The cat, Bell kidded, is out of the bag.

The Obamas will be getting a six-month-old Portuguese water dog they've named Bo.

He is, Bell observes, one lucky pup, trading ten acres at breeders Art and Martha Stern's Amigo Portuguese Water Dogs in Boyd, about 35 miles northwest of Fort Worth, for the 18 acres at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Martha told Bell Bo has had "the basic obedience, like sit and stay and walk on a lead, and those kind of basic things all dogs need to lead a happy, good life."

The new first pup is a gift to the Obama girls from Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, who has three "porties" of his own. His newest puppy is Bo's brother, Turner points out. In a statement, Kennedy said, "We love our Portuguese water dogs and know that the girls -- and their parents -- will love theirs, too."

The breed needs "consistent training, just like ya do with the children," Martha noted to Bell, "and that's the reason I thought the Obamas would be a very good family (for Bo), 'cuz they have really raised some nice little girls.

So how did Bo get his name? Sasha and Malian Obama have a cousin with a cat named Bo, and first lady Michelle Obama's father was nicknamed Diddley, after the famous singer.

Bo, who had a "meet-and-greet" with the Obamas recently at the White House, apparently already knows who's boss.

"When the president of the United States got up and walked across the room," says Washington Post reporter Manuel Roig Franzia, "the dog, clearly having a very good understanding of who rules in this town, got up and followed the president!"

Bell says there are still lots of issues to be resolved, such as where Bo will sleep and who'll walk and train him.

In addition, Bell says it will probably be a bit of an adjustment for the first family, because neither Mr. nor Mrs. Obama had pets when growing up, and this breed needs lots of attention and training.

'Though the Obamas had said they would try to make their choice a dog they could rescue from a shelter, and Bo is an expensive pure-breed, the Obamas decided they wanted a Portuguese water Dog because of its temperament and the fact that it won't aggravate Malias's allergies.

Portuguese water dogs rarely wind up in shelters so, says Bell, the Obamas will be making a donation to a Washington, D.C.-area shelter.