from ecorazzi:

So much has been said over the Obama family’s upcoming decision regarding the “first dog” — but long before his road to the White House was clear, the President-elect had already made up his mind to adopt.

Back in 2005, Jana Kohl reached out to Barack Obama regarding dog adoption and her larger campaign to end puppy mills. It was then that the Senator promised Kohl he would adopt if his family ever made the decision to get a dog. In addition, along with 40 other notables, Obama posed for a photo shoot for Kohl’s book A Rare Breed Of Love. His co-star in that photo was “Baby”, a hypoallergenic 3-legged rescue dog and puppy mill survivor. From the release,

Baby, who was rescued from a puppy-mill after nine years of confinement in a cage, cannot bark because her vocal chords were cut and also lost a limb due to maltreatment. Since being rescued and subsequently adopted by Dr. Kohl, Baby spends her time advocating for other abused dogs and animals. Baby’s plight also inspired a Congressional bill that would end the inhumane practice of lifetime confinement of breeding dogs. “Baby’s Bill” was proposed by bipartisan members of the House and Senate and will be voted upon in the next Congressional session.

Great shot of Barack and Baby, right? January 20th 2009 can’t come soon enough. To find out more about A Rare Breed Of Love, jump here.

Photo credit: PRNewsFoto/CBH Communications