Joe Biden: Next puppy will be a rescue pooch

Joe Biden has been in hot water with animal activists  recently over his purchase of a German shepherd puppy from a breeder.  (The breeder, Linda Brown, has even come under fire herself.) 

Now Biden tells ABC News' George Stephanopolous that he'll be adding a second puppy into the mix -- a move that's likely to please both activists and his wife, Jill.  Stephanopolous explains:

"We're going to have more than one puppy," Biden told me in an exclusive interview to air Sunday morning on "This Week With George Stephanopoulos." ...

The vice president-elect said his family intends to get another puppy from the pound so that his new yet-to-be-named puppy will have companionship.

"I've had German shepherds since I was a kid and I've actually trained them and shown them in the past," Biden said. "So I wanted a German shepherd, and we're going to get a pound dog, which my wife wants, who is hopefully a golden [retriever]."

Biden told Stephanopolous that he and Jill have "always had two dogs" to keep each other company and that they've had pound-rescue pets in the past (including their present cat).

The German shepherd puppy, Biden confirmed, will be named by his grandchildren -- who will announce their decision on Christmas morning.  Stay tuned!

See the puppy-related excerpt from the interview at ABCNews.com.

--Lindsay Barnett

Photo credit: Lauren Victoria Burke /ABC News