Presidential Pets

Fun facts for President's Day

Dear Cat and Dog Loving Friends,

Almost all U.S. Presidents had pets, and so in honor of Presidents’ Day I thought it would be fun to learn about the pets who lived in the White House. While I was unable to find specific information about the breeds and names of some of the early POTUS pets, I did unearth some terrific anecdotes about many of them. I think it’s particularly endearing to know that in this house that has stood for power, pressure and politics there have lived furries misbehaving, stealing food, shedding on the furniture, having accidents on the carpets and chewing their chew toys maybe even in the Oval Office.

🇺🇸George Washington
The Father of Our Country adored dogs and had more than thirty in his lifetime. In addition to being a founder of our nation, he also founded a breed: the American Foxhound. Truly-American dogs are in the minority of breeds recognized by the AKC, and there are only 18 such American breeds amongst the total 205 breeds the organization lists. Washington’s American Foxhound has been Virginia’s state dog since 1966.

📭John Adams
Adams kept dogs, horses, birds, and farm animals, but the Adams family’s true animal lover was his wife, Abigail. In her letters, she wrote about the pets as family members in the same way we speak about our pets today, and her detailed letters included which pet was sick, who wandered off and who was behaving badly.

🐦‍⬛Thomas Jefferson
It is known that Jefferson had dogs but there are no details about their specific names or breeds. However, a lot is written about his mockingbird, Dick. Dick rode on TJ’s shoulder and ate directly from his mouth. The two even whistled duets together. Jefferson also briefly had two grizzly bear cubs who were a gift from the explorer Zebulon Pike.

🦜James Madison
Madison had an African grey parrot named Polly who was talkative and had picked up some very spicy language from who knows where. In fact, while at Madison’s funeral Polly began shouting out those phrases loud enough that attendants had to remove her from the service.

🦜 Andrew Jackson
Nine years later, Jackson’s parrot Poll did nearly the same thing at his funeral. Poll’s loud swearing during the service necessitated that he be carried out. Given Jackson’s famously volcanic temper, many believed that Poll had been an excellent listener.

🐊James Buchanan
There are not many details about James Buchanan’s pets. He was reported to have had dogs, an eagle, and possibly an alligator. But no wife.

😺 Abraham Lincoln
It is well documented that Lincoln loved animals. His pets included dogs, cats, a nanny goat and a famous turkey who was reprieved from being the Thanksgiving feast. He was known to be particularly fond of his two cats, Tabby and Dixie, who were gifted to him by Secretary of State William Seward. Lincoln often fed Tabby with a gold fork during formal White House dinners. He once remarked that Dixie was “smarter than my whole cabinet.”

🐐 Benjamin Harrison
Harrison had a pet goat named His Whiskers, who once pulled the presidential carriage down Pennsylvania Avenue with his grandchildren aboard. Here’s a photo of that goat.

🐴Theodore Roosevelt
As you would expect, the Rough Rider Teddy Roosevelt had a full menagerie. He had terriers Skip and Jack; Manchu the Pekingese; Josiah the badger; Eli Yale the macaw; and Algonquin the pony. Algonquin famously took the White House elevator to visit young Archie Roosevelt to cheer him up when he was ill.

🦝 Calvin Coolidge
Tige, the beloved gray tabby of the President, went missing from the White House. President Coolidge went on the radio asking the American public to help with his safe return. Tige was finally found at the Lincoln Memorial and from that time on he traveled the White House wrapped around Calvin Coolidge’s neck and shoulders. Coolidge also had Rebecca the raccoon, who arrived intended for Thanksgiving dinner but became a First Pet instead (she isn’t the only presidential pet adoption that was originally meant for dinner).

🐕‍🦺 Franklin D. Roosevelt
Fala was a Scottish Terrier who traveled everywhere with FDR. Fala appeared in presidential photographs, made newsreel appearances and lived as a family member in the White House. He became a national celebrity and even received a huge amount of his own fan mail. Fala attended FDR’s funeral, and when he died, Fala was buried near FDR in Hyde Park. Notably, he was the only presidential pet to be depicted in a presidential memorial statue.

🚫Harry S. Truman
Truman famously didn’t like dogs and gave away the family cocker spaniel, Feller. He was also the only President to drop an atomic bomb on another country. Enough said.

🐕 Richard Nixon
A campaign donor gifted the Nixon family a cocker spaniel named Checkers when Nixon was the Republican Vice-Presidential nominee in 1957. Nixon was involved in a campaign finance scandal and made a (now-famous) short television statement to the country stating that he was just a modest man and that he and his family were ordinary and hardworking. In closing, he mentioned the gift of Checkers and that he and his daughter Tricia loved the dog and no matter what anyone said, “we’re gonna keep it.” The country loved the dog, and Nixon (as a result?) remained on the ticket.

🐴 John F. Kennedy
JFK had many pets including Macaroni the pony, and Pushinka, a Russian mix who was gifted to Kennedy from Khruschev amid high nuclear tension between the two countries. Pushinka was in fact the offspring of Strelka, the famous cosmonaut dog who in 1960, along with Belka, became the first living creatures to orbit the Earth and return safely.

🐶Lyndon Baines Johnson
LBJ loved his dogs but also knew that they helped people see him as warm and approachable. He had two beagles named Him and Her. In 1964 Johnson was photographed picking up one of the beagles by the ears, and the White House was suddenly flooded with angry mail despite President Johnson’s insistence that the dog thought it was fun. (Don’t try this at home.)

🐶 Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan might be better known for his love of horses, but he did have Lucky, a Bouvier des Flandres, who had to be rehomed after repeatedly knocking people over due to his massive size. He was followed by Rex, an elegant Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, whose calm demeanor was a better fit for the Reagan White House.

🐕 George H. W. Bush
The Bush family had Millie an English Springer Spaniel. Millie was the only First Dog to have written a book -- and it was a bestseller! (I am so jealous)

🐈‍⬛ Bill Clinton
The Clinton family had Socks the black and white tuxedo cat who was often seen being walked around the white house grounds. Socks was such a celebrity he had a press secretary. Buddy the chocolate Lab arrived in 1997, right about the time when Clinton needed a true friend.

🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛ George W. Bush
Scottish terriers Barney and Miss Beazley were beloved pets of the Bush family along with their black cat India. It is reported that Barney once nipped a white house journalist. (Perhaps it was for something he wrote?). Here President Bush shows his love for the dogs.

🐕‍🦺 Barack Obama
Two Portuguese Water Dogs, Bo and Sunny, joined the family while they were living in the White House. This lovely breed was chosen because it is less allergenic since daughter Malia suffered from allergies. This photo shows a moment of calm.

🐕 Joe Biden

The Bidens had their three German Shepherds Champ, Major and Commander. Major was the first shelter dog to live in the White House. Commander had to be removed from the residence after biting a few staff and Secret Service agents. When Biden was Vice President, I had the opportunity to ask him one on one about his dogs. In his Biden way, he took my face in his hands, looked straight into my eyes, and said, “My dogs are so much smarter than Barack’s dogs.” I wish I could find that photo.

🚫🐾 Donald Trump

Trump is the first President in more than a century to not have pet. I say no more.

And such is my roundup of Presidential pets. Living with a pet is most certainly heart-warming and humanizing. President Truman is reputed to have said “In Washington, if you want a friend, get a dog,” and personally, while I understand how cutthroat a town Washington is, I’d extend Truman’s advice to every single locale in the country. There’s no better friend than a pet.

Ciao, ciao, ciao for now.

Dr. Amy

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