All Hail the Resident Pets in Chief!

by Courtney Mroch | More from this Blogger

19 Feb 2007 01:24 PM

Photo by Peter Mackay

Presidents are often known for their policies, diplomacy (or lack thereof), and in some unfortunate cases their scandals or assassinations. In honor of Presidents' Day, I thought I'd focus on a different side of the White House. One Pets Blog readers might better appreciate: the variety of pets who have called the White House home.

I think the first pet I remember hearing of living at the White House was Jimmy Carter's daughter's cat. I was just a little girl at the time (maybe eight?), and it caught my attention because I was surprised a cat was allowed to live in a house I surely assumed would be off limits to animals.

But presidents have soft sides, too, and so do their families. Pets have been an integral part, in surprisingly, most presidencies. I learned this after a virtual trip to the Presidential Pet Museum. (If you're ever in our nation's capital, you can schedule a visit there in person, too.) Here are some other interesting things I learning during my visit:

Fun Facts About Presidential Pets

• There has been a White House pet in residence of one sort or another almost continually from 1885 until present.

• Some Presidents have been more pet-friendly than others. Included among those who had a menagerie of animals during their terms are: George Washington (1789-1797); Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865); Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877); Rutherford Hayes (1887-1881); Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909); Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929); and John F. Kennedy (1961-1963).

• There are only five presidents who didn't have pets of record. They are: James K. Polk (1841-1845); Millard Fillmore (1850-1853; although he founded, and was a president of, the Buffalo Chapter of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.); Franklin Pierce (1853-1857); Andrew Johnson (1865-1869; although he allegedly harbored a family of mice in his room and left flour out for them to play in at night.); and Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885).

• Pre-1915, horses, cows, and pigs were common presidential pet picks. (William Taft's cow, Pauline Wayne, holds the distinction of the last cow to graze at the White House.)

• The most exotic animals belonged to: John Quincy Adams (1825-1829; the Marquis de Lafayette bestowed an alligator upon him!); Martin Van Buren (1837-1841; the Sultan of Oman gave him a pair of tiger cubs which he then donated to a zoo.); James Buchanan (1857-1861; the King of Siam gave him a herd of elephants.); Theodore Roosevelt (he had dogs, cats, guinea pigs, and even a snake as well as a hyena, wildcat, coyote, and five bears.); and Calvin Coolidge (in addition to dogs, cats, and birds, he also had raccoons, a bobcat, a bear, a pigmy hippo, a wallaby, and lion cubs.).

Related Articles:

The White House: A Venerable History

Fun with History - The White House

Learn more about Courtney Mroch

Courtney Mroch is a wife, a proud pet parent, and a writer. She's been with her husband, high school sweetheart Wayne Pryor, over 20 years, married 11 of those. She's "mom" to Mr. Meow, a.k.

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