This Photo Of The Obamas' Dog Can Legitimately Be Called Epic

[FarCenter]

Sunny Obama, the second Portuguese water dog the Obamas adopted in August, was part of a minor incident in which she caused a 2-year-old White House guest Ashtyn Gardner to fall over.

Sunny jumped up on the toddler during the 2013 White House Holiday Press Preview, in which First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled the White House's holiday decorations with families of military service members. Ashtyn was there with her father, John Gardner, a member of the Navy who later said that Ashtyn was fine.

Both Sunny and Bo, the Obama's other Portuguese water dog, remained in the room afterward and there were no other incidents. Sunny apologized right after the incident by licking Ashtyn's face.

The incredible photo above is from AP photographer Charles Dharapak. Here's the video, from NowThis News:



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/sunny-obama-knocks-child-over-michelle-white-house-christmas-2013-12

[KittyWampus]

1. Dogs need to be trained not to jump on people.

edit- no matter what their size. Big or small.

[PeaceNikki]

3. Sunny did not jump on the little girl. The girl tripped.

[KittyWampus]

6. Then I apologize to all humans and critters involved. Thanks for setting the record straight.

[kestrel91316]

17. He didn't jump on anybody. He was behind her and bumped her with his head, and she, being a toddler,

fell over.

[KittyWampus]

33. understood, apologies to all involved.

[trof]

54. Looks like she tripped on the boy's walker.

[PeaceNikki]

2. I watched the video. Sunny didn't knock that girl over.

She fell back, but not because of the pup.

[lunatica]

8. She fell back because she tripped on the boy's walker

You can see how her feet are tangled in the walker leg

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024133091

[jberryhill]

10. In other words, it was a conspiracy

The dog and the kid in the walker were working together.

[mstinamotorcity2]

61. exactly

can't trust kids or animals

[TorchTheWitch]

46. I was just about to post the same thing

The only reason that Sunny got her front feet off the floor was because Mrs. Obama was pulling her up by the leash probably trying to prevent the dog from either jumping on the girl or just freaking her out since she had her back to Sunny when she was sniffing at her (imagine being so tiny that when you turn around your nose is just an inch away from a dog that's as tall if not taller than you). Te little girl tripped over that other kid's walker and fell. She's cute as a button, too, going by the photos in the other thread.

I love how the legs of these dogs look with the long curly hair that makes them look like they have no feet almost like they're wearing big hairy sacks on their legs that match their fur.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

4. the dog doesn't look like he did anything wrong

he was sitting behind the girl and when Mrs. Obama began to pull him back he came up a little on the leash and as the girl was backing up she tripped over the boy's walker that was there. the still photo makes it look like the dog was jumping on her...

sP

[jberryhill]

5. I blame the three people in KKK outfits

Although I'm surprised the Klan has apparently relaxed its membership standards.

[KittyWampus]

7. I shouldn't have laughed… but I did.

[jberryhill]

9. If you're going to distort - go big

The dog sniffs the kid.

The kid turns around to look at the dog, and backs up.

Kid trips over walker while backing up.

[erpowers]

16. I Laughed Too

It was a funny post.

[Vattel]

14. Nice one.

[Catherine Vincent]

35. LOL

[Cha]

42. Likely suspects!

[Dorian Gray]

51. HAH!

I spit my coffee out.

Love Michele's face!

[madaboutharry]

11. Why can't journalists get the story right?

She tripped on the walker. Poor Sunny took the blame.
Glad she's is fine.

[erpowers]

12. The Photo Is Misleading

Everyone should watch the video. Yes, it can be argued that Sunny was behaving badly in that she was at the table looking for food. However, First Lady Obama pulled her away from the table once it was noticed she was at the table. At that point the little girl noticed Sunny and tried to pet her. In trying to turn around to pet Sunny the little girl fell to the floor. First Lady Obama immediately helped the little girl off the floor and allowed her to pet Sunny. The little girl seemed to be unconcerned about having fallen and was more interested in and happy to be petting Sunny. She got up with a smile on her face and spent the rest of the video interacting with Sunny.

[Maeve]

55. I thought it looked like the toddler startled a bit

Kids that age do...and it really was a "no harm, no foul" situation. She looked cute petting Sunny!

[Vattel]

13. The dog always get the blame.

The kid tripped over the other kid's walker and poor Sunny gets the blame. Maybe this will help Barrack and Sunny Obama bond. Barrack also gets a lot of undeserved blame.

[mynaturalrights]

15. It went right for the little girls throat

[Cha]

43. ...

lol

[mynaturalrights]

58. That little girl when she gets older is going to have some cool photos to hang on the wall.

If she was my child I would have all those printed and framed.

[Cha]

60. Exactly!

TheObamaDiary.com @TheObamaDiary
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Ashtyn Gardner fell over when she met Sunny, but all was good, she got a hug from the First Lady 10:03 AM - 4 Dec 2013
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http://theobamadiary.com/2013/12/04/coming-up-74/

[Rex]

18. No no no, that sounds all wrong...you need to put a RWing filter on that story!

Sunny, a weight lifting Pit Bull on 'roids went apeshit-berserk (probably from training in a terrorist camp) today killing over 100,000 white children and babies while Marxist '1st lady' Michelle watched on...cackling and rubbing her hands together with glee for about 3 hours. The cost for the clean up will be around 74 billion taxpayer dollars.

[get the red out]

52. LOL

Love it.

[lunamagica]

19. He didn't jump on her. If you see the video, he just got too close

The little girl stepped back and slipped or fell back. Michelle pulls the leach back, and that's the only moment where Sunny's front paws left the ground

[Silver Gaia]

20. That's what I see, too.

NOT a big deal. Sunny didn't do anything wrong!

[Glimmer of Hope]

21. Sunny just wanted to kiss her nose.

[darkangel218]

22. Poor dog, getting blamed for nothing.

[1StrongBlackMan]

23. worlddailynews headline ...

Michelle Obama sics Dog Defenseless White Child of Naval Hero!

[Cha]

44. Then thinks better of it..

TheObamaDiary.com @TheObamaDiary
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Ashtyn Gardner fell over when she met Sunny, but all was good, she got a hug from the First Lady 10:03 AM - 4 Dec 2013
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http://theobamadiary.com/2013/12/04/coming-up-74/

[HipChick]

24. She pushed him first...

He thought she was playing

[Samantha]

34. I thought she pushed Sunny back as well

I watched it twice. It appeared to me after pushing forward against the dog, she lost her balance and fell backward. Not a big deal since they obviously made up. But Sunny did not jump on her.

Sam

[Donald Ian Rankin]

25. Much as I loathe and despise dogs, it's hard to fault this one in this specific case.

It looks as though it's being relatively sedate, and it's unfortunate that the girl stepped backwards over a pushchair.

[darkangel218]

30. How can anyone loathe dogs?

Perheps you don't particularly like them?

Hate is a big word.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

39. See my #38

[Laffy Kat]

32. I can understand not wanting a dog, but loathing them?

My mother always told me not to trust people who don't like dogs or babies.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

37. My mother said kind of the same thing

She said something about people who didn't like dogs had something wrong with them and she didn't trust them. I feel the same way.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

40. See my #38

[Donald Ian Rankin]

38. There's a fairly simple distinction between good and bad dog owners.

Good dog owners recognise that if their dog is annoying or distressing other humans, that is a flaw in them and their dog.

Bad dog owners think that if their dog is annoying or distressing other humans, that is a flaw in the people being distressed or annoyed.

"They'd love him if they only knew him" is the hallmark of someone who should not be permitted to own a dog.



I exaggerate somewhat for rhetorical effect - I have met some dogs, mostly extremely well-trained examples of breeds like collies that take training extremely well - that I like, but in general the fact that dogs shit, bark, smell, moult, scare some children and in some cases bite makes me dislike them. And if you distrust me because of that then, frankly, more fool you.

[darkangel218]

41. "dogs shit, bark, smell"

So do humans. Do you feel the same about people?

[wickerwoman]

45. That if they are causing obvious distress to someone

the polite thing is to go away and leave them alone? Yes. I would expect a parent with a baby in a restaurant that was screaming or had a revolting smelling diaper or who was throwing things at other customers to remove that baby from the vicinity of other people. If my neighbour had a baby that was crying constantly, I would expect that neighbour to at least be making efforts to quiet it.

You would not believe the number of dog owners who think other people should have to put up with being slobbered on, growled at, shed on, chased and tripped when they are trying to exercise, have their eardrums pierced with yelping and their allergies triggered just because "everyone loves dogs and if you don't that speaks to a deep character flaw in you".

The sense of entitlement in some dog owners in public spaces is monumental.

[darkangel218]

49. Thats not what is about.

The poster stated he/she simply loathes dogs. Read up thread.
I find generalizations like that a bit strange, to say the least.
But to each their own I guess.

[wickerwoman]

59. I loath artichokes.

To each their own, indeed. Why is that "a bit strange, to say the least"? I'm sure there are things that you strongly dislike, with or without a rational reason.

You'll also find, upthread, a number of people saying "I don't trust anyone who doesn't like dogs" or "there must be something wrong with you if you don't like dogs". It's also very common with dog walkers in parks and on beaches for the attitude to be "I have a right to be here with my dog off leash and if anyone doesn't want to be approached by my dog they just need to be educated about how to be with dogs and then they'll love them as much as I do".

Sorry, but I'm allergic to dogs, particularly to their slobber which gives me hives. That doesn't make me untrustworthy or a sociopath and I have every reasonably right not to be approached by them in public places and to expect owners to keep their dogs away from me when it is obvious I don't want to engage with them. But this is not the case far more often than you would expect. You would not believe the number of dog owners who feel it's their role to "educate" me about how to behave when their animal enters my personal space.

[jberryhill]

47. I'll piss on your carpet and see how you like me

[darkangel218]

48. Human babies do that all the time.

Your analogy fails.

[darkangel218]

50. And to answer your question, i wouldnt hate you, if you didnt know any better.

And dogs don't.

Most animals wouldnt think twice about urinating on a carpet. Should we hate them all?

[get the red out]

53. I like dogs better than most humans

And I'm not a fool, anyone can call people who disagree with them fools, that's way too easy.

[tabasco]

62. That's okay. Dogs don't like you, either.

and I suspect that most people feel the same as the dogs.

[tabasco]

26. The First Lady always looks great

She's got a lot of class and style.

[SoCalDem]

29. and she dresses appropriately... unlike...

Mz Laura ib her stunning "couch cushion rescue" finery

[nolabear]

28. Biggest non incident in the news today.

Except everyone involved was ridiculously adorable and only a total Scrooge would make anything of it. (Not you all)

[blogslut]

31. I'm curious as to how the wingnut outrage machine will spin this one.

No doubt they will not heed the law of the business that we call show: Never follow animals or children.

[bluestate10]

36. House republicans will demand that the White House deliver Sunny Obama for

grilling by a House committee on what she knew about knocking the girl down and when she knew it, and whether the President put her up to it. The hearing will consume the House for the rest of it's already low-work 2013 term.

[bluedigger]

56. I'm always nervous when toddlers are near my dog.

Toddlers are so unpredictable after all.

Poor Bo.

[mynaturalrights]

57. I'm the same way , my dog is a sweet heart but he's big ( 112 pounds )

The slightest little nudge he might do with his nose trying to lick a toddler could knock
him or her over.
I often have parents ask me if it's okay for their children to pet him when out walking.

I agree to it but I kneel down next to him just in case.