Sunny, the Obama family's beloved Portuguese water dog, has died at the age of thirteen. Former President Barack Obama broke the news on social media, sharing a lengthy and heartfelt tribute to a dog who spent more than a decade at the center of one of America's most prominent families, UNILAD reports.

The family brought Sunny home in August 2013, at the start of Obama's second term, according to WDBO. She was, from the very first day, exactly what the family needed.

"Sunny was a force of nature," Obama wrote, describing a dog who leapt the hedges of the South Lawn as though they barely existed, in pursuit of squirrels, birds, and anything else brave enough to move, NewsNation reports.

The Dog Who Hated Water

Sunny arrived as a companion for the family's first dog, Bo, who had grown lonely as daughters Sasha and Malia grew older, NewsNation reports. The two became inseparable. Obama remembered Sunny as fiercely protective of Bo, always alert where her big brother was not.

She carried one gloriously absurd contradiction: despite being a Portuguese water dog — a breed literally named for its affinity with the sea — Sunny hated getting wet, according to CP24.

She had her own love language, too. While Bo could be won over with a good treat, the way into Sunny's heart was a belly rub or a good roll on the floor, TMZ reports.

Wikimedia Commons/Barack Obama Presidential Library, License: Public Domain

A White House Life Well Lived

Sunny's years at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue were anything but quiet. She accompanied the family on official occasions, won over White House staff, and even appeared alongside the Obamas when Pope Francis visited in 2015, TMZ reports.

She preferred the company of people over other dogs, Obama noted. She shadowed the White House team, followed staff around on the job, and managed to charm practically everyone she met, according to UNILAD.

Obama posted the tribute as a collaboration with Michelle Obama on Instagram, and the comments filled quickly with messages from friends, fans, and fellow dog owners who understood the particular ache of losing one.

Wikimedia Commons/The White House, License: Public Domain

Goodbye to Bo's Little Sister

Bo, the family's first dog, died from cancer in 2021 at the age of twelve, CP24 reports. He had been a gift to the family from the late Senator Ted Kennedy, and his passing hit the family hard. Sunny outlived him by several years.

Obama closed his tribute with an image of the two dogs reunited. "We will miss her terribly," he wrote, "and imagine she's with her big brother now, making sure he's okay," KOIN reports.

Sunny lived her whole life exactly as Obama described her at the very end: fiery and gorgeous, always loyal, always sweet, always ready for whatever came next.