Former US President Barack Obama has announced the death of the family’s Portuguese Water Dog, Sunny, at the age of 13.
“Yesterday, we lost a cherished member of our family,” Obama wrote on X, describing Sunny as a loyal companion who was “pretty much perfect” and had remained by the family’s side for 13 years.
Sunny joined the Obama family in 2013, at the beginning of Barack Obama’s second presidential term. She and the family’s other Portuguese Water Dog, Bo, became familiar faces at the White House. Obama recalled Sunny as a dog with “boundless energy” who would leap over the hedges on the South Lawn and eagerly join the family in play. He said she particularly enjoyed running around with the family, rolling on the floor and having her belly rubbed.
“She loved the girls, even if they were pestering her when she was napping,” Obama wrote, referring to daughters Sasha and Malia.
Sunny also became part of several high-profile White House occasions. She met foreign dignitaries and other visitors, including Pope Francis, whom she and Bo met at the White House in 2015.
Former White House chief photographer Pete Souza paid tribute to Sunny, saying it was an honour to photograph her. Obama also recalled some of Sunny’s quirks, describing her as a “loud and sloppy drinker” who disliked getting wet.
Sunny’s death adds to a long history of presidential pets at the White House. Dogs have traditionally been common companions of US presidents, with Donald Trump widely reported as the only president in the past century not to have had a pet while in office.
