Barack and Michelle Obama are mourning the death of their beloved family dog Sunny, the Portuguese Water Dog who spent years alongside them in the White House.
The former president and first lady announced Sunny’s death in an emotional joint Instagram post, sharing a carousel of family photos and memories from her 13 years with them.
See Barack and Michelle Obama’s tribute to Sunny on Instagram
The couple said Sunny died Tuesday, Sept. 15, and remembered her as an energetic, affectionate dog who quickly became a cherished member of the family.
“We immediately fell in love,” the Obamas wrote.
But keeping up with Sunny was apparently another matter.
They remembered her as a “force of nature” who would leap over hedges on the White House South Lawn while chasing squirrels, birds and anything else that caught her attention.
Unlike Bo, the family’s older Portuguese Water Dog, Sunny was less interested in treats and more interested in playing, running around and getting as many belly rubs as possible.
The Obamas also joked about some of her quirks.
Sunny apparently preferred people to other dogs, was a notoriously messy drinker and, despite being a Portuguese Water Dog, hated getting wet.
Still, they said she was “pretty much perfect” in their eyes.
Sunny officially joined the Obama family at the White House on Aug. 19, 2013, when she was about a year old. Official White House photographs show Sunny and Bo playing together on the South Lawn on her first day there.
The White House even released a video introducing the newest Obama family member at the time.
Watch the original 2013 White House video introducing Sunny
Sunny was brought into the family partly as a companion for Bo, who had joined the Obamas in 2009.
The two dogs quickly became familiar faces around the White House, appearing at events, greeting visitors and spending time with the family.
Michelle Obama once joked that the easiest way to tell the dogs apart was to look at their markings: Bo had white paws and more white on his face, while Sunny was almost entirely black with just a small patch of white on her chest.
Sunny also developed a reputation for being the more mischievous of the two.
During a 2013 White House holiday event, the energetic dog accidentally knocked over a 2-year-old girl before immediately licking her face. The child was not injured.
Years later, Michelle revealed another less glamorous White House habit.
Speaking to children during a 2015 hospital visit, she joked that Sunny would sometimes sneak away from the kitchen and have accidents elsewhere inside the White House.
Despite those antics, Michelle described both Sunny and Bo as hardworking “ambassadors” who regularly appeared for visitors and events.
Bo died from cancer in 2021, leaving Sunny as the family’s remaining longtime canine companion.
In their farewell message, the Obamas said they like to imagine Sunny is now reunited with him.
“We will miss her terribly,” they wrote, adding that they picture her with her “big brother” again.
For the Obama family, Sunny was far more than a former White House pet.
She was part of the family through Barack Obama’s presidency, his daughters’ teenage years and the years that followed — remaining, as the couple put it, loyal, sweet and ready for adventure until the end.
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