Happy Presidents’ Day! As we celebrate the great service of our country’s leaders in leading our nation, we look to their dogs (and other rather unusual pets). As they undoubtedly carried the weight of the world on their shoulders throughout their years in leadership, our nation’s presidents most assuredly found comfort in their relationship with the First Pets.
American presidents have a long and glorious history of pet ownership. Owning a dog or a cat is about as American as baseball games in the summertime, barbeques on the 4th of July, or homemade apple pie. Not only did many of our Presidents own dogs and cats, they also owned other very unusual pets. Here are some fun facts regarding United States Presidents and their pets:
- George Washington, our nation’s first president, owned many dogs, including several Coonhounds and Staghounds. He also owned a Lemur and a messenger pigeon named Edmond.
- Thomas Jefferson and his family had three Briards. Additionally, he kept two grizzly bear cubs. They were a gift from the Lewis and Clark expedition.
- John Quincy Addams kept a very unusual pet — an alligator — in the White House bath tub.
- Martin Van Buren received two tiger cubs as a gift from the Sultan of Oman. He later gave these pets to a zoo.
- The King of Siam gave James Buchanan elephants as a gift during his presidency. Buchanan also had a pair of Bald Eagles and a Newfoundland named Lara.
- Abraham Lincoln, while in the White House, owned many pets, including many dogs, cats, goats, rabbits, and turkeys.
- Rutherford B. Hayes and his family loved animals, and they owned many while he served as President. Among the Hayes family pets, there were goats, canaries, hunting dogs, shepherd dogs, a mockingbird, 4 kittens, a Mastiff, a Newfoundland, a Terrier, and a Greyhound.
- Theodore Roosevelt was a strong conservationist and established the first National Wildlife Sanctuary. Roosevelt is also credited with preserving millions of acres of land as National Parks. His family owned many pets, including several dogs, cats, a badger, a pony, a rat, a garter snake, a Macaw, 12 horses, 5 guinea pigs, 5 bears, roosters, lizards, an owl, a raccoon, a coyote, a lion, a hyena, and a zebra.
- William Taft owned a milk cow named Pauline whom he kept in the White House kitchen.
- Calvin Coolidge had many pets, including lots of dogs, cats, pigmy hippos, a donkey, raccoons, a bobcat, a thrush, a mockingbird, a bear, an antelope, a wallaby, and lion cubs. Many of the pigmy hippos in zoos today are descendents of Coolidge’s hippos.
- The Obama family chose Bo, a Portuguese Water Dog, shortly after the family moved into the White House.
So many of our Presidents adored animals. They cherished their relationships with their pets and welcomed many dogs, cats, and other pets into the White House. What a wonderful legacy and example for the the American people!
