Dogged Flackery

A dog from "Marley and Me" at an adoption event on the Ellipse on Nov. 12. (Jeffrey Snyder/Twentieth Century Fox)

A four-month-old Peruvian hairless puppy. (REUTERS/Mariana Bazo)

The intense public interest in the future Obama dog has been an inspiration to PR folks across our puppy-crazed nation. The American Kennel Club got into the act early with a national poll this summer to identify the favorite sneeze-free breed (Malia is allergic). Other marketers jumping up to lick our faces lately:

Milk-Bone, promising a "a LIFETIME supply" of dog biscuits to the new first pup.

The new Twentieth Century Fox comedy "Marley and Me," which brought its shelter-dog star to the Ellipse on Wednesday for a Humane Association event promoting doggy adoptions.

The D.C. Ritz-Carlton, hosting yet another poll asking its fancy clientele to pick a breed (for every ballot, it'll give $1 to the Washington Humane Society) and a possible name for the first canine.

The Friends of the Peruvian Hairless Dog Association, offering a free 4-month-old Peruvian hairless (said to be nonallergenic) to the Obama family.

Anti-puppy-mill activist Jana Kohl, flacking a new book about her three-legged pup Baby -- which just happens to have a photo of the president-elect holding her hero.

By The Reliable Source | November 14, 2008; 1:02 AM ET
Categories: First Family
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