Obama’s First Dog, Bo, ‘reincarnated’ as an avatar in New York Times Square

Allowing families to “reunite” with departed pets is the offering of a new specialized application.

Launched by XOOX Lab with a New York Times Square display on Nov. 11th, the 15-second clip showed an avatar of a black dog resembling Bo, the First Dog of former U.S. President Barack Obama. Bo was a Portuguese water dog that passed away in 2021 due to cancer.

The specialized pet application develops avatars “closely resembling” pets, using videos and photos captured during their lifetime.

“With the consent of pet owners, we use data from registered pets to create avatars,” says Kristen Kim, the PR manager at XOOX. “The purpose of creating pet avatars is to convey emotions and healing through encounters that transcend time and space.”

Upon joining XOOX, a penny is automatically donated to the XOOX Foundation, which is dedicated to advocating for the legal recognition and protection of companion animals. For more information, click here.

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