Animal Facts
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Written by Gary A. Seidman
SwitchYard Media, Inc. - contact | website
Designed and produced by Kent Harris
Tin Can Rocket, LLC. - contact | website
A production of SwitchYard Media, Inc.
Photo Credit: FDR Library; SwitchYard Media
Fala and Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin Roosevelt's Scottish Terrier Fala is among the White House's most famous four-legged residents. Originally a gift to the president, Fala moved in on Nov. 10, 1940. At first he was named Big Boy, but FDR renamed him Murray the Outlaw of Falahill after a Scottish ancestor.
Every morning the White House kitchen would send a bone up for Fala on the president's breakfast tray. Fala slept on a chair at the foot of the president's bed and frequently accompanied FDR on trips.
On one trip to to the Aleutian Islands in 1944, Fala was feared to be left behind. During the presidential campaign that year, Republicans accused FDR of spending millions of taxpayers' dollars to send a destroyer back for the dog.
Fala immortilized: A statue of Fala stands in the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington.
1940-1952: Fala died in 1952 and is buried next to the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt in New Hyde Park, N.Y.
Photo Credit: JFK Library
Macaroni, Charlie and the Kennedy clan
A menagerie of animals joined President John F. Kennedy and his young family to the White House. There were the parakeets Bluebell and Maybelle; the hamsters Debbie and Billie; a rabbit named Zsa Zsa and Caroline's pony Macaroni -- a gelding, part Shetland, roan with four white stockings and star -- who roamed the gardens.
A number of dogs also arrived, including Charlie the Welsh Terrier who was a gift from Joseph Kennedy; and Pushinka, who was a gift from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in 1961.
Gift horse: In 1962, Pakistan's president presented First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy with a Palomino, Sardar, Arabian named Rufus.
Ireland's gift: Leprechaun, a Connemara pony, was given to John Jr.
Photo Credit: Reagan Library
Lucky, Rex and Ronald Reagan
The Reagans had Lucky the Bouvier des Flandres who, because he became a little too frisky, eventually moved back to family's California ranch.
Shortly after, a year old King Charles Spaniel named Rex came to the White House -- a Christmas present for First Lady Nancy Reagan.
A puller by nature, Rex was often seen dragging the President away from reporters at opportune moments. Rex died in 1998 at the age of 13.
Rex: Rex was a gift to the Reagans from columnist William F. Buckley, Jr.
Headline maker: In January 1986, Rex made headlines when he successfully underwent a tonsillectomy.
Photo Credit: LBJ Library
LBJ's bevy of Beagles
President Johnson was fond of Beagles -- Beagle, Little Beagle, Him and Her. Perhaps the most famous presidential dog photo was when Johnson lifted Him up by his ears in May 1964. It didn't go over well with dog lovers.
Johnson also had a white Collie named Blanco and Yuki, a howling mutt that his daughter Luci found at a gas station in Texas. The president enjoyed demonstrating Yuki's singing skills to visiting dignitaries.
Beagle celebrities: The most well known of LBJ's dogs, were Him and Her, registered beagles born on June 27, 1963.
Short lives: Her died at the White House in 1964, after she swallowed a stone. Him died in 1966, after being hit by a car while chasing a squirrel at the White House.
Photo Credit: Courtesy the White House
Bill Clinton's Buddy and Socks
In December 1997, the Clinton family dog Buddy arrived at the White House. Buddy was a chocolate Labrador Retriever who was, well, despised by Socks, the Clinton's black and white cat.
"You know, I did better with the Arabs, the Palestinians and the Israelis than I've done with Socks and Buddy," the president told CNN.
Buddy was tragically killed by a car near his home in New York in 2002.
Socks: Adopted by the Clintons in 1991, Socks moved into the White House in 1997 and was given to the president's secretary, Betty Currie when Clinton left office in 2001.
Buddy: The Lab moved with the Clintons to New York when the president left office. He was killed by a car near his home in 2002.
Photo Credit: National Photo Company Collection
The Taft's cow, Pauline Wayne
The 27th president, William Howard Taft, famously had a cow as a pet at the White House.
Pauline Wayne, a Holstein, who freely grazed on the White House lawn was the last cow known to reside at the executive mansion where she provided milk for the First Family.
Miss. Wayne, as she was sometimes known, was a gift to First Lady Helen Taft from Wisconsin Sen. Isaac Stephenson after the president's first White House cow, Mooly Wooly died.
Holstein in retirement: After leaving the White House, Pauline Wayne lived out her last years on the Wisconsin farm of Sen. Stephenson.
Photo Credit: Bush Presidential Library
Millie, Ranger and George H.W. Bush
The first President Bush was occasionally accompanied to the Oval Office by his Springer Spaniels Millie and Ranger.
Millie's 1989 litter of six puppies included Ranger, who died of cancer in May 1993, and Spot Fetcher, who moved back into the White House when George W. Bush became president.
Millie died in 1997 at age 12.
Millie: Officially Mildred Kerr Bush, the Spaniel was named for a Bush family friend, Mildred Caldwell Kerr.
Canine author: Millie is credited as the author of Millie's Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush.
Photo Credit: David Hume Kennerly; Ford Library
Liberty at Gerald Ford's White House
Gerald Ford's Golden Retriever Liberty was a frequent companion for the president in the Oval Office and at Camp David, where she'd occasionally take dip in the pool.
In 1975, Liberty gave birth to a litter of puppies.
One story that President Ford would tell was about the time he took Liberty out for a late night walk around the White House grounds and found himself locked out of the mansion. The Secret Service had been unaware of the walk and had locked up the president's quarters for the evening.
Liberty's legacy: In 1975, Liberty, who hailed from Minnesota, gave birth to eight pups, one of which became a guide dog for the blind.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress
A pony called Algonquin joins Teddy Roosevelt
Teddy Roosevelt's six children had a slew of animals including cats, dogs, snakes and raccoons when they lived in the White House more than 100 years ago.
Quenten Roosevelt, who was about four years old when he moved to the White House, was especially fond of a pony called Algonquin. One day, in an effort to cheer up his brother Archie, who was sick at the time, Quenten walked Algonquin into the White House, brought him up the elevator and walked him right into Archie's bedroom.
Unusual pets: Besides the dogs, cats, birds and horses owned by the Roosevelts, they also had occasion to host roosters, raccoons, bears and a lion.
Photo Credit: Courtesy the White House; Eric Draper
George Bush's Barney, Spot, Miss Beazley
Spot, an English Springer Spaniel, was born at the White House on March 17, 1989, and served in two administrations -- the 41st president's and the 43rd's. Spot was the daughter of former President George Bush's dog, Millie.
Barney, a Scottish terrier, was a gift from New Jersey Governor Christie Whitman to Laura Bush. Barney spends a lot of time in Texas on the ranch ever since his good friend Spot passed away.
Miss Beazley, a Scottish Terrier puppy, arrived at the White House on Jan. 6, 2005, a birthday present from the President to Mrs. Bush.
Spot Fetcher: Was named after Scott Fletcher, a former player for the Texas Rangers, the baseball team that President Bush once owned. She died at 14 in 2004.
Barney: The "first dog" had a little biting problem in 2008. He bit a Reuters reporter on the finger in November and reportedly bit another White House guest earlier in the year.