Johnson, frequently referred to as “LBJ”, may not have assumed the Presidency after an election, but he did stay true to form when it came to keeping pets, which included hamsters.
But President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) outdid them all, owning dozens of animals including a one-legged rooster, dogs, cats, horses, a pony, snakes, kangaroo rats, a flying squirrel and a badger named Josiah who had a penchant for nipping people's legs.
PRESIDENTIAL POSSUM
Herbert Hoover, the 31st president, had an opossum. And Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president, had a raccoon named Rebecca that walked on a leash! Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president, was famous for his many pets. His six kids had snakes, dogs, cats, a badger, birds, guinea pigs, and more.
James Monroe. The only known pet in the White House during James Monroe's term was a spaniel belonging to his youngest daughter, Maria Monroe.
Billie and Debbie were Syrian hamsters who were United States presidential pets in the care of Caroline Kennedy during the presidency of her father John F. Kennedy. They joined the First Family at the White House in January 1961.
According to the above graph, US Presidents' estimated number of pets is about 298 animals. President Theodore Roosevelt had the most pets owned as a president at 48. He owned a few strange pets, including a black bear, a badger, a hyena, and even a three-legged rooster.
About Media. President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and their children, Caroline Kennedy and John F. Kennedy, Jr., play with their dogs, Shannon, Wolf, White Tips, Blackie, Clipper, and Charlie, at Brambletyde house on Squaw Island, Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.
Buddy Clinton (August 7, 1997 – January 2, 2002), a male chocolate-colored Labrador Retriever, was one of two pets kept by the Clinton family while Bill Clinton was President of the United States. The Clintons' other pet was a cat named Socks. Denton, Maryland, U.S. Chappaqua, New York, U.S.
Fala (April 7, 1940 – April 5, 1952), a Scottish Terrier, was the dog of United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Early years. Harvey Samuel Firestone (left) gave Billy to Calvin Coolidge (right), who donated Billy to the National Zoo. In 1927, Harvey Samuel Firestone, the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, acquired Billy in Liberia, where he was captured on one of Firestone Tires' large plantations.
Presidential Pets (1860-1921) President William Howard Taft's cow, Pauline, poses in front of the Navy Building, which is known today as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Pauline was the last cow to live at the White House and provided milk for President Taft (1909-13).
Lincoln was the first president to bring felines into the White House. His cats Tabby and Dixie were gifts from Secretary of State William Seward. Lincoln was quite the cat person, even rescuing three motherless kittens while visiting General Grant during the Civil War.
Most United States presidents have kept pets while in office, or pets have been part of their families. Only James K. Polk, Andrew Johnson, and Donald Trump did not have any presidential pets while in office. However, Johnson did take care of some mice he found in his bedroom.
Presidential Pets (1860-1921) President Benjamin Harrison (1889-93) gave his grandchildren a pet goat named His Whiskers. One day, while pulling the president's grandchildren around in a cart, His Whiskers took off through the White House gates.
In addition to his love for animals, President Abraham Lincoln, our 16th President, was known for his giving spirit. He allowed his sons, Tad and Willie, to keep as many pets as they wished. The result was a menagerie that included rabbits, turkeys, horses, and even two goats, Nanny and Nanko.
President Dwight Eisenhower greets Dzimbo, a 440-pound baby elephant, 1959. President Dwight Eisenhower greets Dzimbo, a 440-pound baby elephant, a gift from the French territories in west-central Africa in 1959. Dzimbo made his permanent home at the National Zoo.
Kermit with a guinea pig from a family portrait. Among the Roosevelt family's many pets were a handful of guinea pigs.
Thomas Jefferson received a pair of grizzly bears as a gift from Captain Zebulon Pike in 1807.
Barney Bush (birth name Bernard Bush; September 30, 2000 – February 1, 2013) was a Scottish Terrier owned by former U.S. President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush. Barney had his own official web page which redirected to an extension of the White House website.
Rex (December 16, 1984 – August 31, 1998) was a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel owned by Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy during his second term as President of the United States.
Mildred "Millie" Kerr Bush (January 12, 1985 – May 19, 1997) was the pet English Springer Spaniel of Barbara and George H. W. Bush.
Formerly a farm cat, she was adopted by the Biden family from Rick Telesz as part of a campaign promise to adopt a cat into the First Family and is named after Jill Biden's hometown of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. Willow is the first cat to live in the White House since India, who was owned by President George W.
First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's Press Secretary Pamela Turnure holds Caroline Kennedy's cat Tom Kitten during a visit with press at the White House, 24 January 1961.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) described the family's choice to accept the gift of a puppy from a family friend as "disquieting" and publicly urged Obama to have Bo neutered, despite the dog having been neutered before the Obamas received him.