Chuck Kennedy/The White House via Getty ImagesWhile all of us dog owners feel that our pets are first dogs, Bo Obama is actually the first dog—and it's his birthday today!
The first family's beloved Portuguese water dog—who was born right around the time the 2008 presidential race was entering the home stretch—is turning 7, and we figured there was no better idea for some Friday morning fun than to share a bunch of Bo's cutest pics.
We remember as if it were yesterday when Bo arrived with royal-baby-esque fanfare, the question as to what type of dog President Barack Obama would pick out for himself, wife Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia having become a real hot topic back in 2009.
And Bo was an instant celebrity: He scored his own New Yorker cover, inspired children's books and became a familiar furry face at fundraisers and low-key events, while journalists everywhere clamored to know just what a day in the life of the first dog was really like.
Answer: as great as you might imagine.
But as much as the human Obamas love Bo, they are quite busy, so in 2013 they brought home a sister for him—fellow Portuguese water dog Sunny—and together they're about as cute as can be. And we have a feeling we know who's really running Washington behind the scenes...
Check out these ridiculously adorable pics of birthday boy Bo Obama through the years:
Commander-of-Leash: Then 6-month-old Bo and the president sneak in a little indoor exercise at the White House not long after the puppy's arrival in April 2009.
Care to Comment?: Bo's romp in the Rose Garden entertained the press corp while Daddy got ready to jet off to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for presumably important business in June 2009.
Arf Force One: Bo pads up the stairs for a flight to Chicago with the president in August 2010.
Having a Ball: This isn't Bo's private security detail, but rather first lady Michelle Obama's trip director Alan Fitts enjoying the fringe benefits of his job on the White House South Lawn in 2011.
You Don't Want to Repeal Obamacare, Do You? Who's a good boy?! The president shares a sweet moment with his best friend outside the Oval Office.
Better Than a Bunny: Malia gets in some quality time with Bo during the White House Easter Egg Roll in 2011 while her parents read to the kids.
Service Dog: The first lady brings along a guest who's sure to delight the kids at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center's Fisher House during a pre-Easter celebration with military families in Bethesda, Md., in March 2013.
Pumpkin Spice: That's Sunny dressed as a sunflower and Bo's the pirate on the right in the White House's Jacqueline Kennedy Garden before Halloween in 2013.
Who Gets to Sit Next to Stephen Colbert?: Bo and Sunny sit at attention before the state dinner for French President Francois Hollande at the White House in February 2014.
Obamas, Out: The four-legged members of the family board a U.S. Marine Osprey helicopter at Cape Cod Coast Guard Air Station for the ride to Martha's Vineyard for their two-week vacation this past August.