Pets also featured in presidential elections. Herbert Hoover got a "Belgian Police Dog" (Belgian Malinois),[5] King Tut, during his campaign and pictures of him with his new dog were sent all across the United States.
Theodore Roosevelt was known for having many pets in the White House. He had six children who owned pets including snakes, dogs, cats, a badger, birds, and guinea pigs.[6]
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 Scottish and all these allegations about spending all this money have just made his little soul furious."[7] What was later called the "Fala speech" reportedly helped secure reelection for Roosevelt.[8]
Richard Nixon was accused of hiding a secret slush fund during his candidacy for vice president under Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952. He gave the televised "Checkers speech" named after his cocker spaniel, denying he had a slush fund but admitting, "there is one thing that I did get as a gift that I'm not going to give back."[9] The gift was a black-and-white cocker spaniel, Checkers, given to his daughters. Although there had been talk of Nixon being dropped from 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."[10][11]
President Lyndon B. Johnson caused controversy when he was photographed lifting his beagles, named Him and Her, by their ears. Some did not understand the controversy; former president Harry S. Truman said, "What the hell are the critics complaining about; that's how you handle hounds."[9] Him died after he was run over by the presidential limousine.[12]
Bill Clinton moved into the White House with Socks, a tuxedo cat, who in 1991 was reported to have jumped into the arms of Chelsea Clinton after piano lessons while the Clintons were living in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was later joined in 1997 by Buddy, a Labrador Retriever, during Clinton's second term.[13] The two pets reportedly did not get along, with Clinton later saying "I did better with the Palestinians and the Israelis than I've done with Socks and Buddy" while Hillary Clinton said Socks "despised" Buddy at first sight.[14] The two were, however, the subject of a book, Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids' Letters to the First Pets written by then First Lady Hillary Clinton and appeared as cartoons in the kids' section of the first White House website.[15]
While George W. Bush was president, he had three dogs and a cat at the White House.[16] Among the canines was Spot Fetcher, an English Springer Spaniel and the offspring of George H. W. Bush's dog, Millie.[17] This made Spotty the first animal to live in the White House under two different administrations, having been born there in 1989 and passed away there in 2004.[18]
Joe and Jill Biden moved into the White House with two German Shepherds, Champ and Major.[24] Major was the first shelter dog in the White House, while Champ returned to Washington, having joined the Biden family during Joe Biden's tenure as vice-president.[25] The Bidens announced the death of 13-year-old Champ on June 19, 2021.[26] In December 2021, the Bidens announced the arrival of a pedigreed German Shepherd puppy named Commander, gifted to them by Joe Biden's brother. Officials later told the press that Major had been rehomed to a quieter environment following a series of biting incidents. The Bidens had also promised they would get a cat, and they fulfilled that promise in January 2022 by adding a two-year-old gray tabby, Willow, to the family.[27]
In addition to traditional pets, this list includes some animals normally considered livestock or working animals that have a close association with presidents or their families. Presidents have often been given exotic animals from foreign dignitaries; occasionally these are kept, but often they are promptly donated to a zoo.
Caractacus – horse named after Caratacus, a 1st-century British chieftain. The horse was the offspring of Jefferson's mare Allycroker and a Godolphin Arabian named Young Fearnought[44]
Sheep – beginning in 1807, the president bred sheep from "four of the most remarkeable varieties[c] [...] pro bono publico." By spring 1808, there were nearly 40 sheep grazing at the president's house. One notorious Shetland ram was said to have killed "a fine little boy."[45]
An alligator[40] – Said to have belonged to Marquis de Lafayette and housed for two months in the East Room.[d][e] Although this story has been widely circulated, the lack of evidence from contemporary accounts or official records suggests an apocryphal myth.[55][56]
Andrew Jackson
Poll – grey parrot who learned to swear. She later attended Jackson's funeral but had to be removed due to loud and persistent profanity.[37]
Apollo – Pony;[key 2] formerly a "trick pony" from a circus, a present for Taylor's daughter Betty and resided in the White House stables with Old Whitey[60]
Jack – Turkey,[36] intended as Christmas dinner, but Tad Lincoln intervened[64]
Fido – dog,[28][32] "assassinated"[65] by a drunk with a knife, a few months after Lincoln's assassination;[66] "Fido" became a generic name for a dog because of Lincoln's famous dog[67][68]
Butcher's Boy, Cincinnati, Egypt, Jeff Davis (his wartime mount), Jennie, Julia, Mary, and St. Louis – Horses.[key 2] Grant purchased Butcher's Boy from a butcher following an impromptu race on D.C. streets where he lost to this horse pulling a butcher's cart.[71]Cincinnati was a thoroughbred of renowned racing pedigree.[72]
Whiskers pulling a cart at the White House, with Russell Harrison and his children
Dash in front of his doghouse
Whiskers ("His Whiskers," or "Old Whiskers") – goat,[36][77] kept at the White House for the president's grandchildren; may have belonged to Russell Harrison[78]
Mr. Reciprocity and Mr. Protection – opossums,[79] named from the 1896 Republican party platform,[80] which includes: "Protection and reciprocity are twin measures of Republican policy and go hand in hand."[81]
Two alligators – According to one account, Russell Harrison kept two alligators in the White House conservatory[82]
Caruso – dog,[key 2] a gift for Taft's daughter Helen from opera singer Enrico Caruso; after a White House performance, he decided that cows were not appropriate pets for a little girl[101]
Sheep[key 4] – The flock, numbering 48 at its peak,[104] kept the White House lawn trimmed "in the most economical way".[103] Their wool was sold to benefit the Red Cross[105]
Palo Alto ("Palo") – A black and white English Setter, a bird dog that Coolidge soon gave to Colonel Starling,[109] chief of the Secret Service detail in the White House
Pekin ducks – Thirteen ducklings were received as an Easter gift; Mrs. Coolidge attempted to raise them in a White House bathroom, but eventually sent them to a zoo[110]
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover with King Tut
Billy Possum – A wild opossum that occupied Rebecca's vacant tree-house and was "adopted" by the Hoovers;[112] temporarily filled in for a local high school's missing mascot.[114][115] The name likely derives from a nickname used for the 27th president, William Howard Taft.[116]
Feller – Cocker Spaniel,[117][122] because the Trumans "preferred to be a pet-free family" he was given as a puppy to Truman's personal physician[123] and claimed to not be a "pet lover" [124]
Ducks – JFK's daughter, five-year-old Caroline raised ducklings at the White House.[130] Ongoing conflicts with their terrier Charlie prompted sending them to Rock Creek Park.[131]
Grits – Border collie (mix);[117][146] Given to his daughter Amy by her teacher, but quickly returned[147] after snapping at several White House visitors[28]
Major[163] (born January 17, 2018) – A German Shepherd rescue. Sent to live with family friends in Delaware by December 2021 after several White House biting incidents.
Commander[164] (born September 1, 2021) – A German Shepherd given to the Bidens as a puppy by the president's brother, also removed from White House after biting incidents[165]
Willow[166] – A gray tabby cat who was adopted after the cat jumped onstage during a rally in Pennsylvania in 2020. Willow, who Biden described as having "no limits", often sleeps on top of the president's head.[167]
Number uncertain, perhaps received as many as seven. "Pierce was thought to have kept one dog, and he gave the other to his Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis. Davis was particularly pleased with the dog and was known to have carried it with him in his pocket."[61]
Illustration from St. Nicholas (1908); original caption: "With an amused bow, the President escorted the Ambassadress around 'Slippers' and kept on his way toward the East Room."[83]
Checkers died in 1964, before Nixon became president, but had played a major role in his electoral career
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