White House Pets
A list of presidential pets through the years
by Holly Hartman

RELATED LINKS
Presidential Candidates' Pets

Quiz: Presidents and Their Dogs

Top 30 Pet Names

Campaign 2000 Factsheet

U.S. Presidents and their families have typically liked animals.

Creatures from mice to bears have made a home at the White House and its grounds. The following list of presidential pets is not complete, however, as no doubt many a presidential cat or cow passed through without much public notice.


PresidentAnimals
George Washington Polly the parrot; 36 hounds; horses
John Adamshorses
Thomas Jeffersona mockingbird; two bear cubs, a gift from Lewis and Clark
James MadisonMacaw the parrot; sheep
James Monroea spaniel
John Quincy Adams an alligator; silkworms
Andrew Jacksonhorses named Truxton, Sam Patches, Emily, Lady Nashville, and Bolivia; Pol the parrot; ponies
Martin Van Burentwo tiger cubs
William Henry Harrisona goat; a cow
John TylerLe Beau, a greyhound; a horse named The General
James Knox Polka horse
Zachary TaylorOld Whitey the horse
Millard Fillmoreno pets
Franklin Pierceno pets
James BuchananLara, a Newfoundland; an eagle; an elephant
Abraham Lincoln Jack the turkey; goats named Nanny and Nanko; ponies; cats; dogs; pigs; a white rabbit
Andrew Johnsonwhite mice
Ulysses S. GrantFaithful, a Newfoundland; horses named Jeff Davis, Julia, Jennie, Mary, Butcher Boy, Cincinnatus, Egypt, and St. Louis; ponies named Reb and Billy Button; pigs; dogs; a parrot; roosters
Rutherford B. HayesSiam, a Siamese cat; Grim, a greyhound; Duke, an English mastiff; Hector, a Newfoundland; Dot, a terrier; canaries; cows; horses; goats; other dogs
James GarfieldKit the horse; Veto the dog; fish
Chester Alan Arthurno pets
Grover Clevelanda poodle; canaries and mockingbirds
Benjamin HarrisonDash the dog; Whiskers the goat; dogs; an opossum
William McKinleya parrot; an Angora cat and her kittens
Theodore RooseveltSailor Boy, a Chesapeake Bay retriever; Manchu, a Pekingese; Skip, a mutt; terriers named Jack and Pete; cats named Tom Quartz and Slippers; Josiah the badger; Algonquin the pony; Eli the macaw; Jonathan the piebald rat; Emily Spinach, a garter snake; twelve horses; five bears; five guinea pigs; other snakes; two kangaroo rats; lizards; roosters; an owl; a flying squirrel; a raccoon; a coyote; a lion; a hyena; a zebra
William TaftPauline Wayne the cow
Woodrow WilsonOld Ike the ram; sheep; chickens; cats
Warren HardingLaddie Boy, an Airedale; Old Boy, a bulldog; canaries
Calvin Coolidge Peter Pan, a terrier; Paul Pry (née Laddie Buck), an Airedale; Calamity Jane, a sheepdog; Boston Beans, a bulldog; King Cole, a shepherd; Palo Alto, a birder; collies named Rob Roy (née Oshkosh), Prudence Prim, Ruby Rough, and Bessie; chows named Blackberry and Tiny Tim; canaries named Nip, Tuck, and Snowflake; cats named Bounder, Tiger, and Blacky; raccoons named Rebecca and Horace; Ebeneezer, a donkey; Smokey, a bobcat; Old Bill, a thrush; Enoch, a goose; a mockingbird; a bear; an antelope; a wallaby; a pygmy hippo; some lion cubs
Herbert HooverGlen, a collie; Yukon, a malamute; Patrick, an Irish wolfhound; Eaglehurst Gillette, a setter; Weejie, an elkhound; fox terriers named Big Ben and Sonnie; shepherds named King Tut and Pat; an opossum
Franklin Delano RooseveltFala, a Scottish terrier; Meggie, a Scottish terrier; Major, a German shepherd; Winks, a Llewellyn setter; Tiny, an English sheepdog; President, a Great Dane; Blaze, a mastiff
Harry S TrumanFeller the unwanted dog (adopted by Truman's personal physician); Mike, an Irish setter (belonged to Margaret Truman)
Dwight D. EisenhowerHeidi, a Weimaraner
John F. KennedyTom Kitten the cat; Robin the canary; Zsa Zsa the rabbit; Sardar the horse; ponies named Macaroni, Tex, and Leprechaun; parakeets named Bluebell and Marybelle; hamsters named Debbie and Billie; Charlie, a Welsh terrier, plus dogs named Pushinka, Shannon, Wolf, and Clipper, plus Pushinka and Charlie's pups: Blackie, Butterfly, Streaker, and White Tips
Lyndon JohnsonHim and Her, beagles; Freckles, a beagle (Him's pup); Blanco, a collie; Edgar, a mutt (née J. Edgar); Yuki, a mutt; hamsters and lovebirds
Richard NixonCheckers, a cocker spaniel; Vicky, a poodle; Pasha, a terrier; King Timahoe, an Irish setter; fish
Gerald FordLiberty, a Golden retriever; Chan, a Siamese Cat
Jimmy CarterGrits the dog; Misty Malarky Ying Yang, a Siamese cat
Ronald ReaganRex, a King Charles spaniel; Lucky, a Bouvier des Flandres sheepdog
George BushMillie, a Springer spaniel; Ranger, one of Millie's pups
Bill ClintonSocks the cat; Buddy, a chocolate Labrador retriever
George BushSpot, English Springer Spaniel (died 2/04); Barney, Scottish Terrier; India, cat


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