Former President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that Sunny, the Portuguese Water Dog who spent years roaming the White House grounds and charming visitors, has died at 13, closing a chapter on one of the more colorful pets in recent presidential history.
Obama broke the news in a post on X, calling Sunny a "force of nature" who spent thirteen years at the family's side. He described her as "always loyal, always sweet, always ready for adventure, still fiery and gorgeous till the very end of her days," the New York Post reported.
No cause of death was given. Obama did not say where Sunny died or whether the family was together at the time.
The Michigan-born dog joined the Obama household in 2013, four years after the family adopted Bo, another Portuguese Water Dog. Obama had famously promised daughters Malia and Sasha a dog during the presidential campaign, and Bo arrived first. Sunny came along as a companion, and, by most accounts, the livelier of the pair.
For all the warmth in Obama's tribute, Sunny's years in the public eye were not without incident. During a 2013 holiday decoration viewing event, the dog knocked over two-year-old Ashtyn Gardner. And just days before the Obamas left office in January 2017, Sunny bit an 18-year-old friend of the first family in the face as the young woman went in for an unwelcome pet. The gash required stitches.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama acknowledged Sunny's mischievous streak in a 2016 interview with the Associated Press. She described Sunny as having a "naughtier side" compared to Bo and offered a memorable detail about life with the dog in the executive mansion.
"You know what she does sometimes? She leaves the kitchen and she'll sneak and she'll go poop on the other end of the White House."
Michelle Obama also told the AP that both dogs had become minor celebrities in their own right, with scheduled appearances and photo requests that required formal approval. "I get a memo at the beginning of the month with a request for their schedules, and I have to approve their appearances," she said. The former first lady has spoken publicly about the balancing act of raising a family under the pressures of the presidency.
The dogs also drew unwanted attention from outside the family. In January 2016, authorities arrested a North Dakota man who said he had traveled to Washington to kidnap one of the Obama dogs. No details about charges or the outcome of that case appeared in public reporting on Sunny's death.
Obama, who has remained active in Democratic politics since leaving office, recently urging his party to develop an AI agenda without offering specifics, struck a personal tone in his Wednesday post. He described Sunny's bond with Bo, noting she was "fiercely protective" of her companion, "who she rightly sensed wasn't always as alert and attentive as she was."
Bo died in May 2021. Obama wrote that he imagines Sunny "is with her big brother now, making sure he's okay."
He also painted a picture of Sunny's quirks: she preferred people to dogs, was a "loud and sloppy drinker," and, despite her breed's reputation as a water dog, hated getting wet. She loved running on the South Lawn and trailing White House staff through their routines.
"She loved the girls, even if they were pestering her when she was napping. She loved our team, and would often follow them around helping on the job."
Obama has kept a visible public profile in the years since leaving office, from headlining fundraisers on Martha's Vineyard to working behind the scenes on party strategy. But Wednesday's announcement was personal, not political, a farewell to a family pet who happened to live in the most famous house in the country.
The former president has also spoken candidly about his family life in recent years, and the loss of both dogs marks the end of an era that began with a campaign promise to two young girls.
Whatever your politics, thirteen years is a good run for any dog, and a reminder that some promises, at least, get kept.
