Our 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt, began his Presidency in 1901, along with six children and more animals than the White House had ever seen.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president, was famous for his many pets. His six kids had snakes, dogs, cats, a badger, birds, guinea pigs, and more.
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.
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."
Presidential Pets (1860-1921) President William Howard Taft's cow, Pauline, poses in front of the Navy Building, which is known today as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Pauline was the last cow to live at the White House and provided milk for President Taft (1909-13).
President Washington was well known for his devotion to animals. At his home, Mount Vernon, he had many traditional farm animals. However, his favorite animal was his beloved horse, Nelson.
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.
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.
James Monroe. Our fifth president was known to have two pets: a Siberian husky named Sebastian, and a spaniel named Buddy. Both dogs are known to make great companions, and Buddy was a close friend to Monroe's daughter Maria.
When Carter returned to his office, his staff did not believe his story, saying rabbits could not swim or that one would never approach a person threateningly.
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.
President Theodore Roosevelt had the most pets owned as a president at 48. He owned a few strange pets, including a black bear, a badger, a hyena, and even a three-legged rooster.
One of the most unusual pets that lived at The Hermitage was a parrot named Poll. On June 5, 1827, Andrew Jackson purchased a parrot from Decker & Dyer, a specialty shop in Nashville, in the amount of $25 as a gift to Rachel.
Kermit with a guinea pig from a family portrait. Among the Roosevelt family's many pets were a handful of guinea pigs.
Thomas Jefferson received a pair of grizzly bears as a gift from Captain Zebulon Pike in 1807.
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.
Theodore Roosevelt (26th President, 1901-1913) and his family also loved animals and had plenty of them at the White House, including a zebra, a parrot, bears, a lion, a hyena, a coyote, rats, and a one-legged rooster.
On March 26th, the zoo became home to Teddy, a Brazilian giant tortoise, and the gift of Theodore Roosevelt. Teddy was originally found in Southern Brazil by Roosevelt and his companions during the Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition of 1913-1914 (known for the infamous journey down the River of Doubt).
He remains the only President to be elected from Pennsylvania and to remain a lifelong bachelor. Tall, stately, stiffly formal in the high stock he wore around his jowls, James Buchanan was the only President who never married.
Post-Roosevelt presidency
When it came time for the Roosevelt family to move out of the White House, Alice buried a Voodoo doll of the new First Lady, Nellie Taft, in the front yard. Later, the Taft White House barred her from her former residence—the first but not the last administration to do so.