Two daughters in a certain wildly famous political family are getting a new dog, and the media is all over the “story” right now since
A) Their dad, President-Elect Barack Obama, joked about the decision in a now-famous sound byte during his first press conference as President-Elect.
B) The Obama family needs to find a dog with the lowest chance of triggering 10 year-old Malia’s asthma, and many, many non-medical websites and national publications printed all sorts of pet recommendations despite the fact that 100% hypoallergenic dogs don’t exist.
C) Asthma and allergy experts are, in the wake of all this misinformation floating around, weighing in with the facts about pets and allergies.
I’m not going to point fingers at specific publications, but it’s clear that fact checkers should’ve dug a little deeper before letting those stories that describe the *perfect* allergen-free dog go to print or end up online. There’s been criticism, too, of the American public for showing too much interest and wasting too much ink on such a non-story when very serious economic, environmental and foreign policy issues loom.
But–and this is the silver that’s lining those inaccuracies–just look how much people are learning about pets, asthma, and allergies now.
The false idea that some pets are virtually trigger-free represents only the tip of the asthma misconception pyramid, and even if Michelle Obama doesn’t take on asthma as a project when she becomes First Lady in January like I hope she does, all the positive and negative coverage of the Obama family’s pet decision throws out some good signals for heightened asthma awareness in this country. Hopefully, this is only the beginning.
For now, check out some accurate information about dogs and allergies:
AP has a broad overview that debunks the myth of 100% hypoallergenic dogs, contains quotes from allergy specialists, and lists coping strategies for allergy sufferers at the end.
Scientific American explains the concept of pet allergies and describes several breeds that may trigger fewer symptoms.
WebMD compiled a valuable FAQ that includes some interesting research–okay, one study–that points to individual dogs’ determining the allergen factor and not the breed as a whole:
In other words, it was a dog-by-dog issue more than a breed-by-breed issue in that particular study, which Bowser says is the only one she found that involved specialized allergy tests
Finally, to show just how much the search for a suitable First Family pet has captured this country’s imagination, Animal Planet is even running a reader poll for some of the most popular breeds.
There is too much attention being given to the new dog, but that happens everytime the President’s family buys a new dog. Remember Buddy Clinton? This one is more interesting because of Malia’s allergies/asthma. Hopefully, pet dander isn’t a huge trigger for her because, as you said, there is no such thing as a allergen-free dog. I hope this doesn’t become a promise he can’t keep…wouldn’t want to give any fodder to the GOP.
Good points—and really, is it any surprise people need a distraction like this right now? When they’re looking for something–ANYTHING— positive or fun in the news lately.
Also worth noting: Not everyone with asthma has allergies (yours truly is an example) and thus can own dogs (three of them) without worrying about reactions. But, as you know, people that are allergic to dogs are reacting to the protein contained in both the pet’s dander AND their saliva. I’m unaware of saliva free dogs and I think really all you can do, if you are allergic is to adjust your meds and minimize the exposure.
Yeah, AG is one of those, too. She’s allergic to dust mites but that’s it. We kept pets away in the beginning b/c for awhile she was too young for us to have a clear picture of her allergies (or lack of them, in this case). Now, like the Obama girls, my kids have been promised a dog, too–only in our case, they have to wait until we move.
It’s my belief that Americans care more about animals than anything else. That’s why Pop 8 passed, and so did the humane animal treatment prop. Animal rights over human rights, as long as there are no gay penguins involved.
Yeah, it was pretty much a given that the marriage “protection” amendment would pass here in FL, but still disappointing to read about the morning after. And California shocked me.
The good thing (or silver lining as you said) is that people are now learning more about allergies and pets. As for the rest – well I agree with most others. Too much time wasted on this kind of story when there are other more serious issues to be dealt with.
I don’t usually reply to posts but I will in this case. Cool site, interesting post.