How about a labradoodle?

Malia and Sasha Obama will soon know who will be the White House puppy thus fulfilling one of Barack Obama's most important campaign promises.

Will it be a labradoodle or a portuguese water hound? A labradoodle sounds a little too French like for my taste. A water hound though has the big advantage of not shedding its hair and so is less likely to cause allergy problems.

You may remember that Bill and Hilary Clinton had Socks the cat who became a national celebrity with his own fan club. Trouble was Socks didn't get on too well with the Clinton's labrador Buddy and ended up with his faithful secretary Betty when Bill left the White House.

I do not have the latest odds from BetFred on the dogfight but my hunch is that the water hound will win the day.

This all goes to show that teaming up with the right animals is a task not to be understimated [or misunderestimated to quote our current leader of the free world]. Making the right choice is as difficult as getting on the right train to return to Birmingham from some remote outpost of England like Reading or finding my way two blocks in London to my next appointment.

So as I write this blog I am grateful for the time we first saw Tiger the cat at the Cat's Protection League and I knew he was the one. And since then Rusty the reindeer and Wesley the sheep have arrived to join him with personalities all of their own.

It is certain the Tardis would seem empty without them