December 22, 2008

NEW YORK -- Animal activists may soon let Vice President-elect Joe Biden out of the dog house.

The Delaware senator will, after all, acquire a new family dog from an animal shelter, he said in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulous, which aired Sunday morning.

The unnamed German Shepherd puppy, which he purchased from a Pennsylvania commercial breeder two weeks ago, will still join the senator's family -- Biden just thought that the pup could use a friend.

"We've always had two dogs," Biden told the ABC news host. "And we've always had two big dogs and so they can have companionships."

Biden did not specifically address the ire that followed his purchase -- and not adoption -- of the 6-week old German Shepherd male. The move prompted public condemnation from various animal welfare advocates and organizations, including PETA and the Humane Society of the United States.

But Biden did explain the reasoning behind his choice of breed.

"And I've had German Shepherds ... from the time I was a kid. And I've actually trained them and shown them in the past," he said. "So I wanted a German Shepherd, and we're going to get a pound dog that my wife wants."

Despite his recent purchase, Biden had always planned on also getting a dog from a shelter, his spokeswoman, Elizabeth Alexander, told The Delware News Journal.

"When the Bidens have had other dogs in the past, they've gotten two so they could play with each other," Alexander said. "As he mentioned, they are in the process of looking for the second dog from a rescue shelter, which was always the plan."

Alexander also said Biden's interest in a shelter was not influenced by the criticism he met when he purchased the dog from Jolindy's German Shepherds, in Spring City, Pa., on Dec. 6.

The facility received several maintenance and record violation citations four days after Biden purchased the puppy, sparking some speculation of puppy mill conditions.

The owner of Jolindy's German Shepherds, Linda Brown, wholly refuted the allegations, telling Pet Pulse last week, "I run a clean facility. When you sell a dog to the Vice President [-elect], you have everybody exaggerating everything."

Though she has a license to breed and sell 250 or more dogs in a given year, Pennsylvania's Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement reported 87 dogs on the property at the time of the routine December inspection.

Biden's shelter promise may help him regain the approval of organizations that were miffed by the kennel's citations -- and the senator' decision to even go there, in the first place.

"It's so important that high-profile elected officials like the vice president set an example and demonstrate that the best source for dogs is your local animal shelter," HSUS President Wayne Pacelli told The Philadelphia Inquirer. "We are very grateful to the Vice President-elect for making the humane choice."

In honor of "this good news," PETA is planning to give Biden a basket with spay certificates, treats and toys. It has also promised to send a $500 gift bag of supplies to Biden's shelter of choice.

"Thanks go out to VP-elect Biden for raising the issue of the companion animal overpopulation crisis in this country," PETA President Ingrid Newkirk was quoted as saying in a Monday morning PETA blog post.

It is unclear when Biden and his family will adopt the dog, who will also have a new feline friend in the Vice President-elect's Delaware home. The senator already has a "pound cat," he told Stephanopoulous.

Biden said he will learn the name of the dog on Christmas morning, when his young granddaughters will reportedly announce the name of the dog that will likely receive nothing short of presidential treatment at No. 1 Observatory Circle.

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Pet Pulse reporter Amy Lieberman, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Delaware Journal contributed to this article.