Bo, first dog, sits for formal portrait

by Mark Silva and updated

It's official, formal and suitable for framing.

The White House has released the official photographic portrait of the First...

Dog.

"Bo,'' the Portuguese water dog adopted by President Barack Obama, wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia -- a delivered campaign promise for the girls, actually -- is pictured in black, but no tie, on the South Lawn of the White House.

Also known in the registry of the American Kennel Club as Amigo's New Hope, for the kennel where he was born, the first pooch was a gift to the first family from Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.)

The White House photo by Chuck Kennedy comes with an appropriate depth of field in which the dog looms larger than the White House, which on many occasions Bo has.

The president actually has growled at this dog, as he showed off his pet's good training in a recent interview with NBC News' Brian Willaims -- "Grrrrr,'' said Obama, handed one of Bo's white paws and proclaiming: "That's what I'm talking about.''

Obama also had this to say to CBS News' Harry Smith, who suggested that Bo appears "out of control'' in a Father's Day interview airing Sunday monring: "Bo, he's a teenager. He's a puppy still. And he, every once in a while, does get a little frisky. But I would not want just a passive dog. I want a dog with a little bit of spirit. And he definitely has some spirit.''

But when they say, sit, Bo drops for the camera.

The White House notes that the first formal photo is not for commercial use -- the makers of Beanie Babies already have taken care of marketing the pooch's name with their Beanie Bo.

The White House also allows that, despite the president's suggestion that Bo likes tomatoes -- they're listed as the dog's "favorite food" on a Bo baseball card featuring his portrait -- the First Family does not feed him the fruit. They can be toxic for dogs, it turns out, as The Gawker reports..