Dog days: Bo’s whereabouts spark latest White House controversy

We live in a world of conspiracy theories -- where nothing is as it seems, where even a politician’s benign photo op might have a titillating back story.

Which brings us to the Obama family dog, Bo.

Bo was last seen in the company of the president, who took him to PetSmart in Alexandria, Va., on Wednesday as part of a holiday shopping excursion.

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So far, so good.

The rest of the Obama family, as we know, has already started vacationing and is in Hawaii awaiting the president’s arrival.

Was Bo with them?

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported on Sunday that a neighbor spotted Bo on a walk in the tony neighborhood where the Obama family is staying.

Is it possible? Could the image-meisters at the White House really have insisted that Bo be flown back to Washington for a quick photo-op with the home-alone president?

That would raise pretty valid questions about whether taxpayers paid for the flight.

We asked First Lady Michelle Obama’s office and quickly got an answer:

“Bo has been in D.C. this whole time.”