The public has always taken a keen interest in the occupants of the White House. Whether it’s the President, First Lady, or one of the presidential children, there’s a certain mystique about living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It’s the most prestigious Airbnb in the country, and nobody ever leaves a review.

But it’s not just the humans who’ve captured our attention. The non-human residents—those with paws, claws, beaks, and occasionally, scales—have also played their part in the strange and cuddly history of the Executive Mansion.

The Conundrum with Counting

Trying to compile a definitive list of presidential pets is like trying to herd cats—literal ones, in some cases. The first problem is deciding what even counts as a pet. Andrew Johnson, for instance, reportedly fed the white mice that scurried around his room during his impeachment proceedings. Was that kindness, companionship, or just someone too tired to scream?

Then there’s the case of Barbara Bush, who once encountered a rat during a swim and called on the Commander-in-Chief to exercise his authority via pest control. That rat didn’t make the official “First Pet” list, but it’s probably still listed as “enemy combatant targeted by POTUS.”

Many presidents owned horses—especially in the pre-Tesla era. Were these noble steeds pets, or merely equine Uber drivers? What about the 48 sheep Woodrow Wilson let graze on the White House lawn during WWI? Were they lawnmowers with wool or presidential livestock?

And then there are the exotic creatures. No, we’re not talking about Vice President Spiro T. Agnew. We’re referring to those situations when a president accepted a pygmy hippo or a hyena from a foreign dignitary—even if it was immediately shipped to a zoo. Can that president claim a momentary brush with exotic pet ownership? Congratulations, you had a hippo for 47 minutes!

Finally, there is the problem that the list of executive animals is sadly incomplete. Listing Thomas Jefferson as owning “at least four mockingbirds” makes the animal lover weep with the thought of all of that lost history.

Despite the fuzzy math, historians generally agree on this: pets have played a surprisingly high-profile role in the White House—sometimes more popular than their human counterparts.

Pups, Politics, and Publicity

Warren G. Harding’s Airedale terrier, Laddie Boy, may have been the original Presidential Influencer. He had his own chair for cabinet meetings, attended fundraisers, and was the subject of countless breathless newspaper features. His name was even thrown around at the well-publicized trial of Dormie, the dog who was charged with murder. If X.com had existed in 1921, Laddie Boy would’ve been verified.

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Scottish Terrier, Fala, became so famous that he nearly got his own budget line item. When FDR was accused of using taxpayer money to retrieve his supposedly forgotten pup from the Aleutian Islands, he fired back with the legendary “Fala speech.” He told the nation that while his opponents could criticize him and his family, they had crossed the line by attacking his dog. America swooned. Fala wagged. Roosevelt got re-elected.

Then there’s Richard Nixon’s infamous “Checkers Speech,” where he denied having a slush fund but admitted accepting a black-and-white cocker spaniel named Checkers. “We’re keeping it,” he said. Mamie Eisenhower approved, and Nixon stayed on the ticket. Who says you can’t buy loyalty—with a dog?

Of course, not every presidential pet moment was endearing. Lyndon B. Johnson sparked a national outcry when he lifted his beagles, Him and Her, by their ears. Johnson, baffled by the reaction, probably regretted not just picking up cabinet members the same way.

Bill Clinton’s household was a divided one—at least when it came to species. Socks the tuxedo cat and Buddy the Labrador famously hated each other. Hillary Clinton even wrote a children’s book, Dear Socks, Dear Buddy, and ruminated on their cold war. Clinton himself quipped, “I did better with the Palestinians and the Israelis than I’ve done with Socks and Buddy.”

George W. Bush’s dog Spot Fetcher had the rare distinction of being born and dying in the White House. The English Springer Spaniel was the offspring of George H. W. Bush’s dog Millie (who authored a best-selling book, by the way), making Spotty a true dynastic dog.

The Obamas brought Bo, a Portuguese Water Dog, to the White House after promising their daughters a pet post-election. Bo was chosen for his hypoallergenic fur. He was later joined by Sunny, and together they bounded their way into children’s books and the American imagination.

Joe and Jill Biden brought along Champ and Major. Major, a rescue pup, became the first shelter dog to live in the White House. Champ, older and more seasoned in DC politics, had already served during Biden’s vice presidency.

Sadly, Champ passed away in 2021. He was replaced by Commander, a German Shepherd, who made headlines for all the wrong reasons during his time at the White House. While initially welcomed as the newest First Pup in 2021, Commander quickly earned a reputation for having a less-than-diplomatic approach to Secret Service agents. Reports confirmed at least a dozen biting incidents, some requiring medical attention. The situation grew serious enough that the Bidens eventually relocated Commander from the White House in late 2023, citing a “stressful environment” as a factor. As previous White House occupant Harry Truman said, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th President of the United States, remains an anomaly in this furry tradition. He did not own any pets while in office—making him the first president in over 100 years to forgo the companionship of animals at the White House. When asked about this, he famously said, “I wouldn’t mind having one, honestly, but I don’t have any time.” And that was that. No Goldendoodles. No rescue cats. Not even a parrot trained to say “Make America Great Again.”

Presidential Pet-ernity Leave: By the Numbers

• Dogs: Owned by 34 out of 46 presidents (74%). Clear winners in the popularity contest.
• Birds: 16 presidents favored our feathered friends.
• Horses: 14 presidents rode in style.
• Cats: Only 12 feline-friendly commanders-in-chief.
• Rabbits: 4 had bunnies, including Zsa Zsa, owned by the Kennedy family.

One study found Democrats tend to be cat people, while Republicans lean dog. So the next time you see someone pulling a squeaky toy out of their coat pocket, you might have just found their voter registration status.

Only two presidents—James K. Polk and Donald Trump—have no recorded pets. Trump’s pet-free status ended a streak of 115 years. Polk, meanwhile, was reportedly too busy expanding the U.S. border to care about puppy playtime.

Harry Truman famously did not consider himself a pet person, and his time in the White House reflects that sentiment—mostly.

In 1947, he was gifted a Cocker Spaniel puppy named Feller by one of his supporters. Truman, however, wasn’t thrilled about it. Rather than keep the pup, he re-gifted Feller to his personal physician, which caused a bit of a public relations mess. The press dubbed the poor dog “the unwanted dog,” and Truman caught flak for being allegedly heartless.

He also briefly had another dog named Mike, but that relationship didn’t stick either.

So, while technically two dogs lived at the White House during Truman’s presidency, neither stuck around long enough to be considered true “First Pets.” Truman himself once said, “You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog.” Apparently, he didn’t have any friends in Washington.

The Wild and the Weirder

Theodore Roosevelt tops the list for “Most Likely to Host a Petting Zoo in the White House.” His family had dogs, cats, guinea pigs, ponies, a one-legged rooster, a badger named Josiah, a pig named Maude, a rat named Jonathan, a lizard named Bill, and a hyena named Bill. (We can’t help but wonder if Roosevelt had just signed either Bill, the name would have changed to Law?)

John Quincy Adams supposedly kept an alligator in the White House bathroom. While some accounts suggest that Herbert Hoover also kept alligators at the White House, that isn’t true, but there’s a reason for the confusion. Hoover’s son, Allan Hoover, owned two young alligators in the early 1920s. Initially, Allan kept them in the bathtub of the family’s Washington, D.C., home on S Street. As they grew, the alligators were moved to an outdoor fish pond. Due to their increasing size and the challenges of housing them, Allan eventually donated the alligators to the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park in 1922. By the time his father became president, the toothy critters were no longer a part of the family.

Calvin Coolidge had a veritable ark of animals during his presidency—dogs, cats, a wallaby, even a pygmy hippo. But perhaps the most iconic member of the Coolidge Zoo was Rebecca the Raccoon, a creature who single-handedly (pawedly?) shifted American attitudes from “let’s roast it” to “let’s put a bow on it.”

Originally intended as the Coolidge family’s Thanksgiving dinner in 1926—yes, that was really a thing in those days to feature raccoon as the central protein of the holiday feast–Rebecca was sent by a Mississippi supporter. Instead of firing up the oven, the Coolidges named her, gave her a collar and leash, and welcomed her into the family. Rebecca had the run of the White House grounds, rode around in Grace Coolidge’s arms, and even joined the annual Easter Egg Roll, which we can all agree is a better gig than being basted and garnished.

Thanks to her high-profile charm offensive—and the press eating it up so the public didn’t—Rebecca helped usher in a shift in how Americans viewed raccoons. Once a source of frontier protein, raccoons started being seen more as potential pets than pot roast. In other words, Rebecca didn’t just get a presidential pardon; she may have spared her entire species from the dinner table. Not bad for a woodland trash panda with a knack for networking.

Fido, Forever

Here’s a presidential trivia nugget you didn’t know you needed: the generic dog name “Fido” became popular after Abraham Lincoln’s beloved yellow mutt of that name was assassinated shortly after Lincoln himself. The dog had been left behind in Springfield, Illinois, where he met an untimely end by knife-wielding drunkards.

Lincoln was one of the biggest (no pun intended about his height) animal lovers to occupy the White House. We covered this aspect of his presidency in greater detail in this article.

The Legacy of the Paws of Power

Whether they’re famous, fluffy, feathery, or ferocious, pets have added heart, humor, and the occasional hissy fit to the story of America’s presidents. They remind us that even the most powerful person in the world can be bossed around by a creature that barks at furniture.

And frankly, if you ask us, that makes them the most relatable residents of the White House.

Almost Certainly Incomplete List of Animals Owned By the Presidents of the United States

President	Dogs	Cats	Other
George Washington	(8) Sweetlips, Scentwell, Vulcan, Drunkard, Taster, Tipler, Tipsy, and Cornwallis		Andalusian donkey (gift from King Charles II of Spain) (6) Horses: Nelson, Blueskin, Steady, Leonidas, Traveler, and Magnolia Parrot
John Adams	(3) Juno, Mark, and Satan		(2) Horses: Cleopatra and Caesar
Thomas Jefferson	(2) Bergère and Grizzle		Mockingbird: Dick (1 of at least 4 mockingbirds kept while in the White House) 2 grizzly bear cubs (gift from Captain Zebulon pike and donated to museum) (2) Horses: Caratacus and Young Fearnought
James Madison			Parrot: Polly (outlived both the President and First Lady)
James Monroe	(1) Spaniel
John Quincy Adams			Silkworms Alligator (belonging to Marquis de Lafayette — possibly apocryphal)
Andrew Jackson			Parrot: Polly (had to be removed from the President’s funeral because of its propensity toward cussing) Fighting Roosters (5) Horses: Bolivia, Emily, Lady Nashville, Sam Patch, and Truxton
Martin Van Buren			2 tiger cubs (gifts from Said bin Sultan, Sultan of Muscat and Oman — donated to zoo)
William Henry Harrison			Cow: Sukey Goat
John Tyler	(1) LeBeau		Canary: Jonny Ty (1) Horse: The General
James K. Polk	NONE
Zachary Taylor			(1) Horse: Old Whitey Pony: Apollo
Millard Fillmore			Ponies: Mason and Dixon
Franklin Pierce	(2) minature teacup Japanese Chin dogs (part of the gift exchange from the Perry Expedition)		2 birds from Japan
James Buchanan	(2) Lara and Punch		Eagle
Abraham Lincoln	(2) Fido and Jip	(2) Tabby and Dixie	Goats: Nanny and Nanko Turkey: Jack (1) Horse: Old Bob Rabbit
Andrew Johnson			he fed white mice that resided in his bedroom
Ulysses S. Grant	(2) Rosie and Faithful		Ponies: Billy Button and Reb (8) Horses: Butcher’s Boy, Cincinnati, Egypt, Jeff Davis, Jennie, Julia, Mary, and St. Louis
Rutherford B. Hayes	(8) Dot, Hector, Duke, Grim, Otis, Juno, Shep, and Jet	(3) Piccolomini, Miss Pussy, and Siam (first Siamese cat in the United States)
James A. Garfield	(1) Veto		Horse: Kit
Chester A. Arthur			Rabbit Three Horses
Grover Cleveland	(5) Hector, Gallagher, and three dachshunds		Mockingbirds
Benjamin Harrison	Dash		Goat: Whiskers Opossums: Mr. Reciprocity and Mr. Protection Two alligators
William McKinley		(2) Valeriano Weyler and Enrique DeLome	Roosters Parrot: Washington Post (or “Loretta”)
Theodore Roosevelt	(10) Blackjack, Gem, Susan, Jack, Peter, Manchu, Pete, Rollo, Skip, and Sailor Boy	(2) Tom Quartz, Slippers	Guinea Pigs: Admiral Dewey, Bishop Doane, Dr. Johnson, Father O’Grady, Fighting Bob Evans Pony: Algonquin Hen: Baron Spreckle Lizard: Bill the Lizard Hyacinth Macaw: Eli Yale Garter Snake: Emily Spinach Pony: Fedelity Black Bear: Jonathan Edwards (donated to zoo) Piebald Rat: Jonathan Badger: Josiah Pig: Maude Rabbit: Peter Rabbit Hyena: Bill (gift from Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia) Barn Owl Rooster (one-legged): Fierce
William Howard Taft	(1) Caruso		Cows: Mooly Wooly and Pauline Wayne
Woodrow Wilson	(2) Davie and Bruce	(1) Puffins	Ram: Old Ike songbirds 48 Sheep, allowed to graze on the White House lawn to keep it trimmed.
Warren G. Harding	(2) Laddie Boy and Old Boy		Canary: Petey Squirrel: Pete
Calvin Coolidge	(11) Rob Roy, Peter Pan, Paul Pry, Calamity Jane, Tiny Tim, Blackberry, Ruby Rouch, Boston Beans, King Cole, Palo Alto, and Bessie	(2) Blacky and Tiger (“Tige”)	Racoons: Rebecca and Reuben Donkey: Ebeneezer Canaries: Nip, Tuck, Peter Piper, and Snowflake Birds: Goldy, Do-Funny Goose: Enoch Bobcat: Smoky Lion cubs: Tax Reduction and Budget Bureau Pygmy Hippopotamus: Billy Wallaby (quickly donated to zoo) Duiker (donated to zoo) Black Bear: Bruno (donated to zoo) Pekin Ducks (donated to zoo after attempt to raise them at White House)
Herbert Hoover	(9) King Tut, Pat, Big Ben, Sonnie, Glen, Yukonan, Patrick, Eaglehurst Gillette, and Weegie		Opossum: Billy Possum Canary: Caruso
Franklin D. Roosevelt	(7) Fala, Major, Meggie, Winks, Tiny, President, and Blaze
Harry S. Truman	(2) Feller and Mike
Dwight D. Eisenhower	(1) Heidi		parakeet: Gabby
John F. Kennedy	(11) Gaullie, Charlie, Moe, Shannon, Wolf, Clipper, Butterfly, White Tips, Blackie, Streaker, and Pushinka (gift from Nikita Khrushchev)	(1) Tom Kitten	Canary: Robin Parakeets: Bluebell and Marybelle Ducks Ponies: Macaroni, Tex, Leprechaun, Hamsters: Billie and Debbie Rabbit: Zsa Zsa (1) Horse: Sardar
Lyndon B. Johnson	(6) Him, Her, Edgar, Blanco, Freckles, and Yuki		Hamsters Lovebirds
Richard Nixon	(4) Vicki, Pasha, King Timahoe, and Checkers
Gerald Ford	(3) Liberty, Lucky, and Misty	(1) Shan
Jimmy Carter	(2) Grits (returned after a brief residency at White House after snapping at visitors) and Lewis Brown	(1) Misty Malarky Ying Yang
Ronald Reagan	(6) Lucky, Rex (named after White House Chief Usher Rex Scouten), Victory, Peggy, Taca, Fuzzy	(2) Cleo and Sara	(5+) Horses: El Alamein, Nancy D, Baby, Little Man, No Strings, and others
George H. W. Bush	(2) Millie and Ranger
Bill Clinton	(1) Buddy	(1) Socks
George W. Bush	(3) Spot “Spotty” Fletcher (daughter of G.H.W. and Barbara Bush’s dog Millie), Barney, and Miss Beazley	(1) India “Willie”	Longhorn cow: Ofelia
Barack Obama	(2) Bo and Sunny
Donald Trump	NONE
Joe Biden	(3) Champ, Major, and Commander
Donald Trump	NONE (so far)

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