Barbara Bush most easygoing of the First Ladies with whom they had dealt. Barbara Bush became the first U.S. First Lady to become a recipient of the Henry G. Freeman Jr. Pin Money Fund, receiving $36,000, most of which she gave to favorite charities. Bush was known for her affection for her pet English Springer Spaniel Millie and wrote a children's book about Millie's new litter of puppies. She even included Millie in her official White House portrait, painted by Candace Whittemore Lovely. She was struck every day by "how much things had changed" for her and her husband since they became
English Water Spaniel stock from the Irish Water Spaniel and the Flat Coated Retriever breeds. The Curly Coated Retriever is considered to have descended from the Poodle, the retrieving setter, the St. John's water dog and the English Water Spaniel. Records for the origin of the modern Field Spaniel are more precise and show that one of the four progenitor dogs used in creating the breed was an English Water Spaniel-Cocker Spaniel cross which was registered at the time as a Sussex Spaniel due to his liver colour. Very unlike the Irish Water Spaniel in appearance, the English Water Spaniel more closely resembled