As Barack Obama moves ahead at staffing a new administration, he must make another crucial decision – the presidential pet.

Virtually every president after Chester Arthur has leashed – or unleashed – some animal in the White House, from Calvin Coolidge's roaming raccoons to Zsa Zsa the rabbit during John F. Kennedy's tenure.

"It makes them an all-American family," said Claire McLean, founder of the privately funded Presidential Pet Museum in Williamsburg, Va., a repository of information and artifacts on presidents and their four-footed friends. "So many people in America have a pet. He becomes an everyday guy."

The president-elect promised his daughters, Sasha, 7 and Malia, 10, that they could get a get a puppy for their move to Washington.

But the politics of pets and Malia's allergies have delayed the selection process.

Mr. Obama has suggested a shelter dog, because they're "mutts like me." Malia has said she wants a "goldendoodle," a golden retriever-poodle hybrid.

Ms. McLean advocates a Portuguese water dog, a nonallergenic breed that has ancestral ties to the poodle. "He's more of a family dog than a snob dog or a high-maintenance dog," she said.

Other groups pushing a favorite pick have weighed in, such as the Friends of the Peruvian Hairless Dog Association.

Locally, Maura Davies, a spokeswoman for Dallas' Society for the Prevention and Cruelty of Animals, has a tally of allergy-appropriate hounds for the family. She advised bypassing shaggier dogs such as golden retrievers in favor of more hairless pups. Other SPCA candidates: the bichon frisé and Toto reincarnations such as the cairn terrier.

After Grits the dog (Jimmy Carter), Socks the cat (Bill Clinton) and Macaroni the pony (JFK), naming the presidential puppy may end up being the easiest part.

1. Labrador retriever

2. Yorkshire terrier

3. Poodle

4. Shih tzu

5. Golden retrieverFIND MORE photos and information on past White House pets. dallasnews

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