Malia Obama was seen grabbing coffee with a friend in West Hollywood on Tuesday, hours before her father, former President Barack Obama, announced the death of the family's dog, Sunny. The 28-year-old Harvard graduate appeared somber during the outing.
Barack Obama took to Instagram on Wednesday to share the news that Sunny had passed away at the age of 13. He wrote that the family had "lost a cherished member of [their] family," noting that the beloved Portuguese Water Dog died on Tuesday.
"We got Sunny at the start of our second term in the White House, and all of us – including our first dog, Bo – immediately fell in love," Obama wrote in his post. He shared a series of photographs of Sunny, describing her as "a force of nature. Athletic and full of boundless energy."
Obama continued, "Always loyal, always sweet, always ready for adventure, still fiery and gorgeous till the very end of her days. We will miss her terribly, and imagine she’s with her big brother now, making sure he’s okay."
Sunny joined the Obama family at the White House in 2013, following Barack Obama's re-election to a second term. The family's other dog, Bo, died in 2021.
During her time in the White House, Sunny was involved in a few notable incidents. In January 2017, shortly before the Obamas left office, Sunny bit a friend of Malia's, resulting in a cut on the friend's face. In 2013, Sunny also knocked over a two-year-old girl at a White House Christmas event, though the child was unharmed.
Malia Obama has pursued a career in Hollywood since graduating from Harvard in 2021, with her directorial debut, "The Heart," released in 2024. Meanwhile, Michelle Obama recently shared on a podcast that she "doesn't miss" her daughters Malia and Sasha, now that they have moved out of the family home, humorously noting that she no longer worries about their whereabouts on Friday nights.