FDR and his dog Fala statues - FDR Memorial in Washington DC

US Presidential Facts – Presidential Dogs

Dogs have been one of the more popular pets of the Presidents.

Here are some of the dogs that claim some of the Presidents as masters (Name, Breed, President):

  • Bo  – Portuguese Water Dog – Barack Obama

  • Barney Scottish Terrier – George W. Bush

  • Buddy Labrador Retriever – Bill Clinton

  • Millie Springer Spaniel – George H.W. Bush

  • Rex Cavalier King Charles Spaniel – Ronald Reagan

  • Grits Border Collie – Jimmy Carter (given to his daughter Amy, but quickly returned)

  • Liberty Golden Retriever – Gerald Ford

  • Checkers Cocker Spaniel – Richard Nixon (became famous from Nixon’s “Checker’s Speech”)

  • Him and Her Beagles – Lyndon Johnson (Johnson caused quite a controversy when he lifted one up by the ears for the press in 1964)

  • Pushinka Mutt – John F. Kennedy (a gift from Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev, a puppy of Soviet space dog Strelka)

  • Fala Scottish Terrier – Franklin Roosevelt

  • King Tut Belgian Shepherd – Herbert Hoover

  • Calamity Jane Shetland Sheepdog – Calvin Coolidge

  • Laddie Boy Airedale Terrier – Warren Harding

  • Blackjack Manchester Terrier – Theodore Roosevelt

  • Veto ? – James Garfield

  • Faithful Newfoundland – Ulysses Grant

  • Fido ? – Abraham Lincoln

  • Punch Toy Terrier – James Buchanan

  • Le Beau Italian Greyhound – John Tyler

  • Buzzy Briard – Thomas Jefferson

  • Satan ? – John Adams

  • Drunkard and Tipsy Black and Tan Coonhounds – George Washington

Sidenote: Calvin Coolidge and Theodore Roosevelt probably had the largest mixture of animal choices as pets. Coolidge’s “pets” included: raccoons, a donkey, canaries, a goose, lion cubs (named: Tax Reduction and Budget Bureau), a duiker, a black bear, a wallaby, a Pygmy hippopotamus, a bobcat, a cat, at least ten different breeds of dogs. Theodore Roosevelt’s pets included: a one legged rooster, a barn owl, a Hyena, cats, a rabbit, a pig, a Badger, a small bear, a lizard, a hen, a macaw, a snake, a rat, ponies, guinea pigs and at least seven breeds of dogs.

Related Posts