Top prize for the oddest (and perhaps most dangerous) First Pet went to John Quincy Adams, who is said to have kept an alligator in the East Room.
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.
Thomas Jefferson received a pair of grizzly bears as a gift from Captain Zebulon Pike in 1807.
John F.
Kennedy owned a Welsh Terrier named Charlie, an Irish Wolfhound aptly named Wolf, a German Shepherd Dog named Clipper, and an English Cocker Spaniel named Shannon.
Other Hoover Family Pets
In the years Hoover was U. S. Food Administrator (1917-19) he wrote a friend and described his family this way: “We have in our family 2 small boys, 1 dog, 2 cats, 11 goldfish, 1 canary, 3 frogs, 14 chickens, 2 turtles, 1 rabbit.”
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.
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.
Johnson, Bishop Doane, Fighting Bob Evans, and Father O'Grady; Maude the pig; Josiah the badger; Eli Yale the blue macaw; Baron Spreckle the hen; a one-legged rooster; a hyena; a barn owl; Peter the rabbit; and Algonquin the pony. President Roosevelt loved the pets as much as his children did.
He also kept two opossums as pets during his presidency. Nothing screams American pride like owning a Bald Eagle, which President James Buchanan had as a pet. Martin Van Buren had two tiger cubs, but Congress ultimately forced him to donate them to a zoo.
Despite his small size, the Shetland ram killed two Barbary rams and then his own son. "This abominable animal," Jefferson explained to the intended recipient of the latter, "was so dangerous generally that I was obliged to have him destroyed."
At age 9, Archie Roosevelt was granted a pet badger named Josiah, "whose temper was short but whose nature was fundamentally friendly."
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 Coolidge's favorite pet was a raccoon named Rebecca; he built a special house for her, visited her every day, and walked her around the White House on a leash.
President Reagan and Nancy Reagan with their new dog "Rex", a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. 12/06/1985. Rex came to the White House on December 6, 1985, as a Christmas present from Ronald Reagan to Nancy Reagan. Prior to this, Rex belonged to commentator William F.
Ronald Reagan had two White House dogs. The one seen here was a Bouvier des Flandres named Lucky that Nancy Reagan received as a gift in 1984. Lucky never fully adjusted to life in the White House, so the Reagans sent her back to their California ranch in 1985.
Lincoln was quite the cat person, even rescuing three motherless kittens while visiting General Grant during the Civil War. He regularly played with kitties to relieve stress during his presidency—a favorite de-stressing technique of cat lovers, even today.
Theodore Roosevelt took animal ownership to extremes. During his tenure, a lion, a hyena called Bill, a coyote, a black bear named Jonathan Edwards and a zebra lived at various times on the White House grounds.
President Theodore Roosevelt and his family were great animal lovers and as such, during their time in the White House they were often gifted with unusual animals by foreign dignitaries. One such animal was an unnamed zebra.
George Washington
Our first president owned 10 hound dogs named Taster, Cloe, Tipsy, Tipler, Forester, Captain, Lady Rover, Vulcan, Sweetlips and Searcher.
Andrew Jackson named one of his favorite horses, Sam Patch, after one of America's first celebrities. Never heard of Sam Patch? Well, the original Sam Patch, a daredevil, certainly had his 15 minutes of fame.
Following a dinner where William Howard Taft feasted on opossum, his supporters made stuffed animals called Billy Possums to rival Theodore Roosevelt's Teddy Bears.
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.
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.
The family of John F. Kennedy brought pet hamsters Debbie and Billie; a gray cat, Tom Kitten; and a canary, Robin, to the White House.
Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt began his presidency with more pets than any previous president.