First pets might not have an official role outlined in the Constitution, but that doesn’t mean they don’t leave their impact on the White House. In honor of National Pet Day, we are sharing some facts about presidential pets.
1. George Washington’s Dogs - According to the Mount Vernon website, the first president was an avid dog owner. George Washington had various breeds at Mount Vernon and his hounds played a big role in one of his favorite pastimes: fox hunting. The names more than 30 hounds are listed in Washington’s journals, including Sweet Lips, Drunkard, Tipler, and Tipsy. Washington personal inspected his kennels daily.
2. White House Raccoon - In 1926, a supporter from Mississippi gave the first family a raccoon, suggesting they serve the animal at their Thanksgiving dinner. Instead, they kept her as a pet and named her Rebecca. For Christmas, President Calvin Coolidge gave her a collar embroidered with the title “White House Raccoon.” First Lady Grace Coolidge brought Rebecca, on a leash, to the White House Easter Egg Roll two years in a row. At the end of Coolidge’s presidency, the family relocated Rebecca to the Rock Creek Zoo so she could live with other raccoons.
3. Presidential Pedigree - Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush are a well-known father and son White House duo. But did you know their presidential pups were also a parent and child pair? During George H.W. Bush’s time at the White House, his Springer spaniel Millie gave birth to a litter of puppies. One puppy was named Spot “Spotty” Fetcher. Spotty went on to be George W. Bush’s pet. When became president, she returned to the White House, making her the first and only pet to live at the White House with two different presidents.
4. Teddy’s Bear and Beyond - President Theodore Roosevelt had a vast menagerie of pets when he lived at the White House. The animals kept as pets by his children were often exotic. Teddy Jr. owned a rare hyacinth macaw named Eli Yale, for the merchant Elihu Yale. Alice kept a garter snake, Emily Spinach, in her purse. Archibald had a badger called Josiah. The Roosevelts even had a bear named Johnathan Edwards, who the president offered to the Bronx Zoo.
5. A Major Coincidence - Coincidentally, two presidents have owned a German shepherd named Major. The first Major belonged to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Major Roosevelt was accused of biting the first woman elected to serve a full term as a United States Senator, Hattie Caraway. The second Major belonged to President Joe Biden. Major Biden has also been the subject of biting accusations. In the end, both Majors were sent away from the White House to live in the personal residences of their owners.
6. Attempted Dognapping - In January 2016, the Secret Service foiled a plot to kidnap Bo, one of the President Barack Obama’s Portuguese water dogs. Agents arrested the would-be kidnapper at a hotel in D.C. The Obamas received Bo as a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy, who himself owned one of Bo’s littermates.
7. Soviet Space Dog - At a state dinner in Vienna, Jackie Kennedy inquired about the dogs in the Soviet space program. A few months later, President John F. Kennedy and his wife received a dog as a gift from Nikita Khrushchev, premier of the Soviet Union. The puppy was a mutt called Pushinka, the daughter of Strelka, one of the first dogs sent to space to return to Earth alive. Pushinka went on to have puppies of her own with another of the Kenndey family dogs, Charlie. President Kennedy referred to her offspring as “pupniks,” a reference to Sputnik, the Soviet space program.
8. Fowl Mouthed - After his wife died, President Andrew Jackson inherited her parrot, Poll. In his letters home to family members, he often inquired about the bird’s well-being. Poll even outlived President Jackson. Reverend W. M. Norment, who attended Jackson’s funeral as a boy, claims the parrot disrupted the service with loud, persistent swearing. However, this is the only known reference to Poll’s potty-mouth, with no other accounts of the funeral mentioning the parrot’s presence.
9. First Feline - Socks, the tuxedo cat of the Clinton family, is possibly the most popular pet to ever call the White House home. Socks was popular not only with the press, who photographed the feline frequently, but also the people! He received so much fan mail, retired veterans from the U.S. Soldiers and Airmen’s Home volunteered to help answer his letters, including his paw print as a signature. Socks even guest starred on an episode of the television Murphy Brown. Socks even had his own webpage on the White House’s official website, which is archived and still readable today.
