Former President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that Sunny, the family's Portuguese water dog and a fixture of their second White House term, has died at age 13, the second Obama dog to pass in five years.
Obama shared the news on social media, describing Sunny as loyal, energetic, and fiercely protective of Bo, the older dog who preceded her into the family and who died in 2021. Sunny passed on Tuesday. Obama did not disclose a cause of death or say where the dog died.
The Obamas brought Sunny home in 2013, at the start of Obama's second term. She was reportedly a little over a year old at the time of adoption, making her roughly 14 by one estimate, though the AP reported her age as 13.
Obama's statement painted Sunny as a dog who fit the family immediately, and who had a personality all her own.
"We got Sunny at the start of our second term in the White House, and all of us, including our first dog, Bo, immediately fell in love."
Presidential pets have long served as informal ambassadors of normalcy in a city not known for it. Harry Truman supposedly quipped, "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." The tradition stretches from Lyndon Johnson's beagles, one incident in which LBJ lifted his beagle by the ears in front of photographers drew sharp criticism from animal lovers, to George H.W. Bush's English springer spaniel Millie, whose "memoir" became a bestseller, to George W. Bush's Scottish terrier Barney, who starred in his own "Barneycam" video series recorded from a camera strapped around his neck.
The former president's tribute went beyond the standard announcement. Obama posted on X that Sunny had been athletic and full of energy, protective of Bo, and, despite being a water dog by breed, reportedly not a fan of getting wet.
He described her as devoted to the family, including daughters Malia and Sasha, and to the staff who worked in the household.
"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."
The Obama family has been in the public eye for nearly two decades, drawing attention for everything from policy to parenting. Michelle Obama once discussed her approach to disciplining their daughters, a moment that drew its own wave of commentary.
Obama also said he believed Sunny was now reunited with Bo, the family's first dog, who died of cancer in May 2021.
"We will miss her terribly, and imagine she's with her big brother now, making sure he's okay."
Bo, a male Portuguese water dog, joined the Obama family during their first term and became one of the more recognizable presidential pets in recent memory. Sunny arrived four years later, in 2013, and the two dogs were frequently seen together on the White House grounds. Bo's death in 2021 left Sunny as the sole surviving Obama pet.
Obama's full tribute called Sunny "fiery and gorgeous till the very end of her days" and described her 13 years with the family as marked by loyalty, sweetness, and a constant readiness for adventure.
The Obama name still carries weight in Democratic politics. Just last year, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez invoked Obama-era messaging at a rally for a progressive Senate candidate, a reminder that the former president's brand remains a tool for the left's political ambitions, even as the family grieves a private loss.
Bill Clinton's chocolate Labrador, Buddy, served a different kind of role, arriving as Clinton weathered the scandal involving White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Presidential dogs have a way of showing up when their owners need them most.
President Trump, notably, does not keep pets at the White House, a break from a tradition that spans most of modern presidential history.
The Obama legacy extends in directions the former president might not welcome. An anti-violence advocate once honored by the Obama White House was later charged with stalking and beating his girlfriend, according to Los Angeles prosecutors, a reminder that proximity to political celebrity does not guarantee character.
Death announcements in political life tend to pause the usual combat, however briefly. When former Rep. Kay Granger died at 83, tributes crossed party lines. A family dog is a smaller loss by any public measure, but a real one for the people who lived with her.
Whatever you think of the Obamas' politics, a dog that stays loyal for 13 years earned her rest.