United States presidential pets

The Obama family and Bo, their Portuguese water dog, walk on the South Lawn of the White House

This is a list of pets belonging to United States Presidents and their families, while serving their term(s) in office.^[1]

History of White House dogs

In 1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt was running for his fourth term when rumors surfaced that his Scottish Terrier, Fala, had accidentally been left behind when visiting the Aleutian Islands. After allegedly sending back ships to rescue his dog, Roosevelt was ridiculed and accused of spending thousands of taxpayers’ dollars to retrieve his dog. At a speech following this Roosevelt said, "you can criticize me, my wife and my family, but you can't criticize my little dog. He's Scotch and all these allegations about spending all this money have just made his little soul furious."^[2] What was later called the ‘Fala Speech’ reportedly turned the election around for Roosevelt.

Miss Beazley, a Scottish Terrier given to Laura Bush by her husband

Richard Nixon was accused of hiding a secret slush fund during his candidacy for vice president under Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952. He gave a televised "Checkers speech" named after his cocker spaniel; denying he had a slush fund but admitted that, "there is one thing that I did get as a gift that I'm not going to give back.”^[2] The gift was a black and white cocker spaniel, Checkers, given to his daughters. Although Nixon had been in danger of being kicked off the ticket, following his speech he received an increase in support and Mamie Eisenhower reportedly recommended he stay because he was “such a warm person”.^[3][4]

Pets also featured on presidential elections. Herbert Hoover got a German shepherd dog during his campaign, King Tut, and pictures of him with his new dog were sent all across the United States during his campaign.

On the other hand, many believe that President Lyndon B. Johnson’s image was damaged because of his pets. He was photographed picking his two Beagle dogs named Him and Her up by their ears. Much of the public was outraged and animal lovers spoke out against it. Others however did not understand the purpose of the uproar and President Harry S Truman was even reported to have said, "What the hell are the critics complaining about; that's how you handle hounds."^[2] While it may not have hurt his presidency, this scandal shed a new light on the president's image.

List of Presidential pets

President	Pet(s)
Barack Obama	Bo – Portuguese Water Dog. First Dog of the United States.
George W. Bush	Spot "Spotty" Fetcher (1989–2004) – female English Springer Spaniel named after Scott Fletcher; Puppy of Millie; Euthanized after suffering a series of strokes. Barney – Scottish Terrier. First Dog of the United States. Miss Beazley (b. October 28, 2004) – Scottish Terrier; Nicknamed "Beazley Weazley"; 2005 birthday gift from George to his wife. India "Willie" – cat (1990–2009) Ofelia – Longhorn cow (lives at Bush's Crawford ranch)
Bill Clinton	Socks – Chelsea's cat (1989–2009) Buddy – Bill's chocolate Labrador Retriever (1997–2002). First Dog of the United States.
George H. W. Bush	Millie – Springer Spaniel. First Dog of the United States. Ranger – one of Millie's puppies[5][6]
Ronald Reagan	Lucky – Bouvier des Flandres[7][8][9] Rex – Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.[9][10] First Dog of the United States. Victory – Golden Retriever [8][9] Peggy – Irish Setter [8][9] Taca – Siberian Husky [8][9] Fuzzy – Belgian sheepdog [8][9] Horses at Rancho del Cielo
Jimmy Carter	Grits – Border Collie;[6][11] Given to his daughter Amy by her teacher, but quickly returned.[12] Lewis Brown – Afghan Hound[13] Misty Malarky Ying Yang, daughter Amy Carter's pet – Siamese cat[14]
Gerald Ford	Susan Ford, daughter of Gerald Ford, and the family's siamese cat, Shan, in 1974. Liberty – Golden Retriever[6] Misty – (Liberty's puppy born in the White House) Shan – Siamese cat[15]
Richard Nixon	Vicki – Poodle [6][16] Pasha – Terrier [6][16] King Timahoe – Irish Setter [6][16][17] Checkers – Cocker Spaniel (note: Checkers died while Nixon was vice-president, before becoming president, but had played a major role in his electoral career)
Lyndon B. Johnson	Him and Her – beagles [6][18][19] Edgar – beagle [6][18][19] Blanco – white Collie [6][18][19] Freckles – Beagle [6] Yuki – mongrel [6][18][19] Hamsters and lovebirds[20]
John F. Kennedy	Kennedy family and dogs Gaullie – Poodle[21] Charlie – Welsh Terrier [6] Tom Kitten – cat[22] Robin – canary[22] Bluebell and Marybelle – parakeets[22] Macaroni – pony [23] Tex and Leprechaun – ponies[22] Debbie and Billie – hamsters[22] Pushinka – mutt (gift of Russian premier, puppy of Soviet space dog Strelka) Shannon – Irish Cocker Spaniel [6] Wolf – (mutt, possibly part Wolfhound and Schnauzer) Clipper – German Shepherd[24] Butterfly, White Tips, Blackie, and Streaker – (offspring of Pushinka and Charlie)[6] Zsa Zsa – a rabbit Sardar – horse[25]
Dwight D. Eisenhower	Heidi – Weimaraner [6]
Harry S. Truman	Feller – Cocker Spaniel [6][26] Mike – Irish Setter [6]
Franklin D. Roosevelt	Fala – Scottish Terrier Majora – German Shepherd [6] Meggie – Scottish Terrier [6] Winks – Llewellyn Setter [6] Tiny – Old English Sheepdog [6] President – Great Dane [6] Blaze – Bullmastiff [6]
Herbert Hoover	Herbert Hoover with King Tut King Tut Belgian Shepherd[6][27] Pat – German Shepherd[6] Big Ben and Sonnie – Fox Terriers [28][29] Glen – Scotch Collie [28] Yukonan – Eskimo dog [28] Patrick – Irish Wolfhound [6] Eaglehurst Gillette – Setter [6] Weejie – Norwegian Elkhound [6] 2 Crocodiles
Calvin Coolidge	Rob Roy and Prudence Prim – White collies [28] Peter Pan – Terrier [28] Paul Pry – Airedale Terrier [28] Calamity Jane – Shetland Sheepdog [28] Tiny Tim and Blackberry – Chow Chows [28] Ruby Rouch – Collie [28] Boston Beans – Bulldog [28] King Cole – German shepherd [28] Palo Alto – Bird dog [28] Bessie – Collie Rebecca and Horace – Raccoons [14] Ebeneezer – Donkey Nip and Tuck – Canaries Enoch – Goose Smoky – Bobcat Tiger – cat Tax Reduction and Budget Bureau – lion cubs Billy – Pygmy hippo A Wallaby A Duiker (a very small antelope) A black bear
Warren G. Harding	Laddie Boy – Airedale Terrier[28] Old Boy – Bulldog [28]
Woodrow Wilson	Davie – Airedale Terrier [28] Old Ike – Ram Puffins – Cat Mountain Boy – Greyhound Bruce – Bull Terrier songbirds sheep
William Howard Taft	Caruso – Dog Mooly Wooly and Pauline Wayne – Cows
Theodore Roosevelt	Pete – Bull Terrier [28] Skip – Rat Terrier [28] Jack and Peter – Terriers [28] Blackjack – Manchester Terrier Manchu – Pekingese [28] Rollo – Saint Bernard Sailor Boy – Chesapeake Bay Retriever [28] Tom Quartz and Slippers – Cats Emily Spinach – Garter snake Algonquin – Pony Maude – Pig Josiah – Badger Jonathan – Piebald rat Dr. Johnson, Bishop Doane, Fighting Bob Evans, and Father O'Grady – Guinea pigs Baron Spreckle – Hen Eli Yale – Macaw Fedelity – Pony Gem and Susan – Dogs A one-legged rooster
William McKinley	Washington Post – Yellow-headed Mexican parrot Valeriano Weyler and Enrique DeLome – Angora kittens Roosters
Benjamin Harrison	Whiskers – Goat Dash – Collie [28] Mr. Reciprocity and Mr. Protection – Opossums[30]
Grover Cleveland	Hector-Japanese Poodle [28] mockingbirds
Chester A. Arthur	Three horses
James A. Garfield	Kit – Horse Veto – Dog
Rutherford B. Hayes	Dot – Cocker Spaniel [28] Hector – Newfoundland [28] Duke – English Mastiff [28] Grim – Greyhound [28] Otis - Miniature Schnauzer [28] Juno and Shep – Hunting dogs Jet – Dog Piccolomini – Cat Siam – First Siamese Cat in the United States Miss Pussy – Siamese Cat
Ulysses S. Grant	Butcher Boy, Cincinnatus (a gift from the citizens of Cincinnati, Ohio), Egypt, Jeff Davis (his wartime mount), Jennie, Julia, Mary and St. Louis – Horses Billy Button and Reb – Ponies Faithful – Newfoundland [28] Rosie – Dog
Andrew Johnson	Fed white mice he found in his bedroom
Abraham Lincoln	Nanny and Nanko – goats Jack – Turkey Fido – Dog [28] Jip – Dog [28] Horse Rabbit
James Buchanan	Lara – Newfoundland Punch – Toy Terrier Eagle
Franklin Pierce	Seven miniature Oriental dogs Two birds from Japan
Millard Fillmore	Mason and Dixon – Ponies
Zachary Taylor	Old Whitey – Horse
James K. Polk	Horse
John Tyler	Le Beau – Italian Greyhound [28] Johnny Ty – Canary The General – Horse
William Henry Harrison	Sukey – Cow Goat
Martin Van Buren	Briefly owned two tiger cubs
Andrew Jackson	Pol – parrot (taught to swear) Fighting cocks Bolivia, Emily, Lady Nashville, Sam Patches and Truxton – Horses
John Quincy Adams	American Alligator Silkworms
James Monroe	Spaniel [28]
James Madison	Macaw – Parrot
Thomas Jefferson	Dick – Mockingbird Buzzy and unknown – Briards (dogs) [28] 2 Bear Cubs Caractacus – Horse
John Adams	Juno, Mark, and Satan – Dogs Cleopatra – Horse
George Washington	Sweet Lips, Scentwell and Vulcan – American Staghounds Drunkard, Taster, Tipler and Tipsy – Black and Tan Coonhounds [28] Royal Gift – Donkey Nelson – Horse

See also

• Canadian Parliamentary Cats
• Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office

References

1. ^ "Presidential Pet Museum". Presidential Pet Museum. http://www.presidentialpetmuseum.com/whitehousepets-1.htm. Retrieved 2011-06-16. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Presidential pets of the past". K-state.edu. 1952-09-23. http://www.k-state.edu/media/WEB/News/Webzine/0302/pastpets.html. Retrieved 2011-06-16. 
3. ^ DVM: The Newsmagazine of Veterinary Medicine; Oct2008, Vol. 39 Issue 10, p22-22, 2/3p
4. ^ Ethan Trex. "mental_floss Blog » The Bizarre History of White House Pets". Mentalfloss.com. http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/19928. Retrieved 2011-06-16. 
5. ^ George H. W. Bush, All the Best, George Bush Simon and Schuster, 2000, pp 595, correspondence from September 10, 1996, ISBN 0743200489, 9780743200486
6. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab} Sandra Choron, Planet Dog: A Doglopedia, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2005, ISBN 0618517529. pp 21.
7. ^ "Ronald Reagan Presidential Library". Reagan.utexas.edu. http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/reference/pets.html. Retrieved 2011-06-16. 
8. ^ ^{a b c d e} Stanley Coren, Why Does My Dog Act That Way?, Simon and Schuster, 2007, ISBN 0743277074. pp 6.
9. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Stanley Coren, Why We Love the Dogs We Do: How to Find the Dog That Matches Your Personality, Simon and Schuster, 2000, ISBN 068485502X. pp. 5.
10. ^ Coren, Why Does my Dog..., 7.
11. ^ Grits in the White House, Chicago Tribune
12. ^ "Presidential Pooch - Grits, the Impeached First Dog | Bully Sticks". Bullysticksinfo.com. 2008-11-21. http://www.bullysticksinfo.com/dog-ownership/90-presidential-pooch-grits-the-impeached-first-dog/. Retrieved 2011-06-16. 
13. ^ x name. "Famous Pets". Famouspets.freebase.com. http://famouspets.freebase.com/view/base/famouspets/pet. Retrieved 2011-06-16. 
14. ^ ^{a b} Stephen Bauer, At Ease in the White House: Social Life as Seen by a Presidential Military Aide, Taylor Trade Publications, 2004. ISBN 1589790790. pp 224.
15. ^ Ford Presidential Library and Museum, Ford Family White House and Pets
16. ^ ^{a b c} GMU Library^{[dead link]}
17. ^ Bauer, 8.
18. ^ ^{a b c d} Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum President Johnson's Dogs
19. ^ ^{a b c d} Bryant, Traphes, with Frances Spatz Leighton, Dog Days at the White House: The Outrageous Memoirs of the Presidential Kennel Keeper, New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1975. ISBN 0671805339
20. ^ "Lyndon B. Johnson's Pet Info". Exoticdogs.com. http://www.exoticdogs.com/presidents/display.php?p=36. Retrieved 2011-06-16. 
21. ^ Sally Bedell Smith, Grace And Power, Random House, Inc., 2006, ISBN 0345484975, pp 219.
22. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Pets – John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum". Jfklibrary.org. 1961-12-03. http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/Pets.htm. Retrieved 2011-06-16. 
23. ^ Smith, 125.
24. ^ J. Randy Taraborrelli, Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot, Warner Books, 2000, ISBN 0446609129. pp 14.
25. ^ Smith, 293, 489.
26. ^ "President Truman's Dog, Feller". Highland-ohio.com. 1948-01-12. http://www.highland-ohio.com/presidential_dog.htm. Retrieved 2011-06-16. 
27. ^ Amy Ruth, Herbert Hoover, Twenty-First Century Books, 2004, ISBN 0822508214. pp 64.
28. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah} Choron, 20.
29. ^ Wayne Bryant Eldridge, Tom Kerr The Best Pet Name Book Ever!, Barron's Educational Series, 2003, ISBN 0764124994. pp 29.
30. ^ U.S. Presidents: Truth and Rumors By Sean Price, Sean Stewart Price. Coughlan Publishing, 2010, Page 14: Accessed Via Google Books Search April 27, 2011. Quote under Presidential Pets:"Benjamin Harrison let a pair of pet opossums run around."

External links

• Presidential biographical sketches - White House official kidswebsite
• Presidential Pets photo album^{[dead link]}
• A Look Back: Pets in the White House
• The Associated Press's "Presidential Pooches" photo gallery