Former US president Barack Obama's family dog Bo, a male Portuguese Water Dog with a mop of black and white fur who became a familiar playful sight around the White House, has died.
Obama announced the death late on Saturday, saying the dog had been "a constant, gentle presence in our lives – happy to see us on our good days, our bad days and everyday in between".
"We will miss him dearly," he said on Twitter.
His
wife Michelle Obama said in a separate tweet that Bo, 12, had been suffering
from cancer.
Bo came to the White House in 2009, soon after the start of Obama's first term and was joined a few years later by a female of the same breed called Sunny.
Obama, who left office in 2017, praised Bo's calm demeanour in the White House, saying the dog "had a big bark but no bite, loved to jump in the pool in summer, was unflappable with children, lived for scraps around the dinner table, and had great hair".