Has Trump chosen the first dog? Goldendoodle named Patton after the legendary WW2 general has been chosen by the president-elect and his son, says Palm Beach philanthropist

• A friend of Donald Trump said she is in possession of the future first dog
• Lois Pope, a prominent Palm Beach philanthropist, has a nine-week-old puppy that she named Patton, which she plans to give the future first family 
• Trump's youngest son Barron saw a picture of the pooch over Thanksgiving break at Mar-a-Lago and, according to Pope, fell in love
• Goldendoodles are very popular partly because they are hypoallergenic 

President-elect Donald Trump's animal-less existence may come to an end once he moves into the White House, as a prominent Palm Beach philanthropist claims that he has already chosen a 'First Dog.' 

Lois Pope told the Washington Post that she has a nine-week-old Goldendoodle – half Golden Retriever, half Poodle – in her possession that will soon belong to the Trumps, though the transition team says 'no decision' has been made yet. 

The pup she named 'Patton,' after George Patton, the Second World War general who the president-elect admires.

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Pope, who has known Trump for 20-plus years, first informed about the pooch in writing. 

Over the Thanksgiving holiday at Mar-a-Lago she showed the president-elect a picture of the pup-in-waiting.  

'He said, "Go over there and show it to Barron,"' Pope said, referencing Trump's youngest son. 'He said, "He's going to fall in love with him." He said, "Barron will want him."'

When Pope showed the 10-year-old the picture of the fuzzy brown puppy he did just that.  

'This big smile came over his face, and it just brought a tear to his eyes,' she said. 

While Trump's spokeswoman Hope Hicks didn't confirm that the first family would be adopting the pooch, Pope was confident young Patton would make his way to the White House. 

'I’m sure. Every president has a first dog. It goes with the presidency,' she said.

And Barron wouldn't be the first first child to get a dog as a consolation prize for having to endure a rough and tumble political campaign.

Sasha and Malia Obama brokered a deal with their parents to get a canine pal post White House move and in April 2009 got their wish with the adoption of Bo Obama, a Portuguese Water Dog, which was a gift to the family from the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.  

In August 2013, Bo got a more rambunctious adopted sister in Sunny Obama. 

Pope argued that the pup would 'help with the transition.' 

Barron and his mother, soon-to-be first lady Melania Trump, won't be arriving in Washington, D.C., right away, as they'll stay in New York City though the end of this school year. 

'It'll take away some of the wonder and awe,' Pope added. 'I mean, can you imagine moving into the White House as a child? It's hard.' 

The Trump team will likely have to take in some of the same considerations that the Obamas did when it comes to dog adoption. 

A Goldendoodle, while technically a 'mixed-breed,' is a popular designer dog and puppies sometimes cost in the thousands of dollars. 

Pope also didn't likely 'rescue' the pooch, which will likely cause a stir in the animal rescue community, which advocates that people adopt their animals from pounds, humane societies and rescue groups, over buying them from breeders.  

Patton does have a lot going for him in that he's good for children with allergies.  

'It's going to be hard for me to let him go,' the philanthropist told the paper. 'But I will do it. Because the boy is more important than I am.' 

First Dogs have been a White House staple for generations, dating back to George Washington. The first such pooch to receive regular newspaper coverage was Warren G Harding's Airedale Laddie Boy in 1921.

In 2008, George W Bush's Scottish Terrier Barney bit Reuters reporter Jon Decker's finger.

William McKinley was the last president to have no dogs in the White House from 1897-1901, instead opting to keep a parrot, cats and roosters.