Historical First Pets
American Presidents have historically been a pet-loving bunch, for the most part, and over the years, the White House has hosted everything from owls, raccoons and a zebra, to a goat, eagle and even an elephant that was given to President James Buchanan by the King of Siam.
Harry Truman is quoted as having once said, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog,” and former President Bill Clinton must have taken his advice to heart when a few weeks before the Monica Lewinski scandal shocked the nation he acquired Buddy, a chocolate Labrador retriever.
Although the Clinton family’s chubby black and white First Cat, Socks, had already stolen the hearts of cat-lovers worldwide and even had his own Web site, White House spokesman Mike McCurry told reporters Clinton got Buddy because of, “the president’s desire to have one loyal friend in Washington,” and Clinton himself has said that there were times during that tumultuous period when he felt that Buddy was his only friend.
Although a handful of American Presidents muddled through office without so much as a goldfish by their side, for the most part, our elected rulers have always taken solace in their relationships with their feathered, furry and four-footed friends.
Some of presidents managed to acquire quite a menagerie while leading the country. If there were a contest for the most unusual, the winner would have to be John Quincy Adams, who raised silkworms and an alligator while living in the White House.
Founding father and dog-lover George Washington might win for the greatest number of pets, with 36 hounds, numerous horses and a parrot named Polly, but Theodore Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Calvin Coolidge would be neck-in-neck for first place, with an average of 30-50 pets each.
The best example of pet nepotism would have to be the Bushes—senior and junior. The elder First Family’s Springer spaniel, best selling author Millie, spawned Spot in 1989. Millie’s grown pup (now deceased) later returned to the place of his birth to share the West Wing with George W. Bush, his wife, Laura and Scottish terrier Barney, the puppy of former Environmental Protection Agency and New Jersey Governor Christine Whitman’s pet, Coors.
Humanizing our Leaders
Aside from making our leaders seem more approachable and down-to-earth, the presence of presidential pets in the White House has humanized and humbled these illustrious politicians in a way that only furry little friends could.
Betty Ford recounts an almost unbelievable tale in her memoir, The Times of My Life (Harper & Row, 1978), in which President Gerald Ford, dressed in a bathrobe, takes his very pregnant golden retriever, Liberty, for a walk on the south lawn at 3am, only to be trapped in the stairwell and unable to get back into the residence.
“When they were ready to come back, Jerry rang for the elevator. But at night, the elevator goes off,” she writes. “You have to get it charged up or something. Secret Service agents are in a room in the basement (they have a mirror and closed-circuit TV and there are lights all over the grounds), and usually they notice anything that moves, so I still don’t understand how they missed the scene with the odd couple. Maybe somebody dozed off.
“Anyway, Jerry decided to try the stairs. He opened the door to the stairwell, said, ‘Come on, Liberty,’ and up they climbed to the second floor, Liberty waddling from side to side, her stomach with nine puppies in it practically hanging on the ground. They got to the second floor, and the door to the hall was locked. You can get out, but you can’t get back in. They went up again, to the third floor. Also locked. And there they were, a President and his dog, wandering around in a stairwell in the wee small hours of the morning, not able to get back into bed. Finally they came all the way down again, and by that time the Secret Service had been alerted, and somebody got the elevator started.”
It seems in Washington, pets are great reminders that no matter whom we are or what heights we attain, we all pretty much share the same needs and responsibilities.
And if you’re caught wandering the White House at 3am, it’s good to have a friend!
Tammy McKillip - Tammy McKillip is a writer/photographer living and working in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. A graduate of Columbia University's writing ...
