Obama's first debate -- the first dog

CHICAGO, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- President-elect Barack Obama, in front of millions of witnesses in Chicago and watching their televisions, promised his daughters they'd get a dog.

"I love you both more than you can imagine," Obama told his daughters, Sasha and Malia, during his victory speech at the Windy City's Grant Park. "You have earned the puppy that is coming with us."

Malia, 10, who has allergies, expressed interest in a "goldendoodle," a hypoallergenic hybrid of a golden retriever and a standard poodle, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday. It usually can't be found at the local pound and hasn't been recognized as a breed by the American Kennel Club.

Already there's a difference of opinion between the public and the first family about the first pooch's breed. In an American Kennel Club poll, voters said they would like the Obamas to adopt a purebred poodle, who nipped the wheaten terrier in a tight race, the Tribune said.

Should the Obamas opt for a purebred, they'd raise the hackles of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. In a letter to Obama, PETA president Ingrid Newkirk urged him to go to a pound rather than a pet store or breeder for his four-legged friend.