President Obama's chef, Talli V. Counsel, saw a dog offered for adoption on a television program. "The way he was bouncing around," said Talli, "something just hit me, and I just knew."

The five-month-old chihuahua/pomeranian mix was a rescue who came to the Best Friends Animal Society shelter needing treatment for a broken hip.

His name was Popcorn, and his need of a home was highlighted on a Los Angeles morning show. Talli and his wife Ingrid Ingram drove sixty miles to meet the dog at a Best Friends mobile event in West Hollywood. "I was determined to get him," said Talli. "And I did."

He renamed Popcorn "Henderson," but he somehow ended up calling him Pop anyway, as though he were some grand old man.

As the dog of the United States Presidential Master Chef, Pop was in for a privileged life in Washington, D.C. He gets daily exercise to strengthen his hip. Near their D.C. home there is a splendid dog park that provides for the dogs a race track, chutes, slides, and shallow ground level water to play in.

"Pop is a blessing and he has had a wonderful effect on everyone he encounters. This little guy is one of the greatest dogs I have ever had, and we just love him."

Talli and Ingrid's Letter about Pop