By Drew Olson Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Feb 26, 2009 at 2:39 PM

While much of the world obsesses over the new economic policies emanating from Washington D.C., a lot of people are spending considerable time wondering what kind of dog the First Family will select this spring.

Sasha and Malia Obama, were promised a pooch during the campaign and First Lady Michelle Obama hinted in a recent People Magazine interview that she favors a Portuguese Water Dog.

Now, I don't care much about famous people's pets. I didn't give a hoot about the Clinton's buddy and I didn't care about W's faithful companion, Barney. Come to think of it, I didn't have many thoughts about Checkers (Nixon) or Liberty (Ford), either.

But this Obama dog selection could have an impact on my family.

How is that, you ask?

Simple -- We own a very happy, somewhat goofy and very lovable 2-year-old black goldendoodle -- a mix between a golden retriever and standard poodle. Because of the dog's size and wavy/curly hair, a lot of people interrupt our walks to ask "What kind of dog is that?" Some people even venture a guess: "Is that a Portuguese Water Dog?"

I can see how people would make that mistake. If the Obama's indeed get a black Portuguese Water Dog, and it happens to be black and resemble our family pooch, I expect the questions to intensify. No doubt some people will think that we selected our dog in order to "copy" the First Family.

That isn't true, of course. We had our pooch first and I have papers, pictures and a chewed-up bedroom set to prove it. The next few months could be interesting. Maybe I can find commercial work for my pooch as a celebrity dog impersonator.

I'm not looking to stimulate the economy, but it would be nice to have some help paying for food, treats and tennis balls.

Drew Olson Special to OnMilwaukee.com

Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.