American Presidents Dogs

 

American Presidents Dogs

This page is dedicated to American Presidents and their dogs. A total of 25 of America's 42 Presidents have owned Dogs as their pets, so our interest in the US Presidents dogs is not surprising

 

American Presidents and their Dogs
1 in every 3 Americans own dogs and are interested in the pets belonging to the US first family.

The details of the Presidents dogs, their breeds, some anecdotes and their names follow in chronological order:

1789 - 1797 George Washington
The first US President George Washington owned 10 Hounds called Mopsey, Taster, Cloe, Tipler, Forester, Captain, Lady Rover, Vulcan, Sweetlips and Searcher


1801 - 1809 Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson owned a sheepdog and is the President who instituted the first dog license. He actually had a dog hanged once for attacking his sheep.


1817 - 1825 James Monroe
James Monroe owned a Spaniel.


1861 - 1865 Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln owned at least 2 dogs called Fido and Jip. Fido, suffered a violent death much like his master. Fido was knifed to death in the street by a drunk who became angry when the dog jumped on him with muddy paws.


1869 - 1877 Ulysses S Grant
Ulysses S. Grant brought a Newfoundland dog named Faithful to the White House. Faithful belonged to Jesse Grant, the son of President Grant.


1877 - 1881 Rutherford Hayes
Rutherford Hayes owned an English Mastiff called Duke, two German Shepherd dogs named Hector and Nellie and a Greyhound called Grim.


1885 - 1889 Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland was believed to have owned a Poodle.

1889 - 1893 Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison owned a dog called Dash


1901 - 1909 Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt owned a Pitbull Terrier (Pete), a Chesapeake Retriever (Sailor Boy), a Terrier (Jack), a mongrel (Skip) and a Spaniel called Manchu. Teddy Roosevelt’s bull terrier, Pete, almost caused an international scandal when he ripped off the French ambassador’s pants during a White House function.


1913 - 1921 - Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson did not own a dog whilst he was President. He was the first to shake hands with a dog which was a war hero. Woodrow Wilson. The dog was Stubby, a bull terrier, who captured a German spy in World War I. Woodrow Wilson made the following quote, "If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience."

1921 - 1923 Warren Harding
Warren Harding owned an Airedale called Laddie Boy and a Bulldog called Oh Boy. Laddie Boy who had his own chair to sit on at cabinet meetings.


1923 - 1929 Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge owned at least 12 dogs:
Terrier (Peter Pan)
Airedale (Laddie Buck/Paul Pry)
2 White Collies (Oshkosh/Rob Roy and Prudence Primm)
Shetland Sheepdog (Calamity Jane)
2 Chows (Tiny Tim and Blackberry)
Brown Collie (Ruby Rough)
Yellow Collie (Bessie)
Bulldog (Boston Beans)
Police Dog (King Kole)
Bird Dog (Palo Alto),


1929 - 1933 Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover owned at least 9 dogs
2 Police Dogs (King Tut and Pat)
2 Fox Terriers (Big Ben and Sonnie)
Scotch Collie (Glen)
Eskimo Dog (Yukon)
Wolfhound (Patrick)
Setter (Eaglehurst Gillette)
Elkhound (Weejie)


1933 - 1945 Franklin D Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt owned at least 7 dogs:
German Shepherd (Major)
2 Scotch Terriers (Meggie and Fala)
Llewellyn Setter (Winks)
English Sheepdog (Tiny)
Great Dane (President)
Mastiff (Blaze)
Fala was given to the President by his cousin, Margaret Suckley. Fala the star of an MGM Hollywood movie about the typical day of a dog in the White House. Fala also became an honorary army private. He received this honor by contributing one dollar to the war effort setting a trend for the rest of the US.Fala is depicted in the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. Meggie, the other Terrier, was infamous as she once bit a senator! Manchu was owned by Alice Roosevelt and was a small black Pekingese which she received as a gift from the last Empress of China.


1945 - 1953 Harry S Truman
Harry S. Truman owned a mongrel called Feller and an Irish Setter named Mike. President Harry S. Truman is attributed with the following quotes:

  • "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog."
  • "Children and dogs are as necessary to the welfare of the country as Wall Street and the railroads."

1953 - 1961 Dwight D Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower owned a Weimaraner named Heidi.

1961 - 1963 John F Kennedy
President John F. Kennedy owned the following dogs:
Welsh Terrier - Charlie and Pushinka
German Shepherd - Clipper
Irish Cocker Spaniel - Shannon
Irish Wolfhound - Wolf
Terrier - White Tips, Blackie and Streaker
John F. Kennedy was the first president to request that his dogs meet the presidential helicopter when the president arrived at the White House.
Soviet Premier Kruschev gave him a dog named Pushinka who was the offspring of the Russian space dog Strelka. Pushinka had 4 puppies of her own puppies who JFK called “pupniks”! Pushinka often made the President laugh by climbing up the ladder to Caroline's tree house. The Prime Minister of Ireland gave JFK the Irish cocker spaniel, Shannon.


1963 - 1969 Lyndon B Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson owned 7 dogs:
Mongrel - (Yuki)
5 Beagles - Beagle, Little Beagle, Him and Her and J. Edgar
White Collie - (Blanco)
As president he received as a gift the white collie, Blanco. He always shook hands with the dog whenever he left or returned to the White House
His favorite dog, the beagle called Him, was run over and killed on the White House grounds. Edgar Hoover gave him a dog t o replace Him which he named J. Edgar. His mongrel dog, Yuki, was famous for disgracing everyone present in the oval office including the Shah of Iran. His next escapade occurred when he bit a White House police officer in the groin. Despite these indiscretions Yuki was honoured by his picture appearing on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.

 

Dog photograph

 
1969 - 1974 Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon owned 4 dogs
Spaniel (Checkers)
Irish Setter (King Timahoe)
Terrier (Pasha)
Poodle (Vicky)
When he entered the White House a member of his staff gave him the Irish setter, King Timahoe, which he named for the little village in Ireland where his mother’s ancestors came from. Richard Nixon.
 
1974 - 1977 Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford owned a Golden Retriever called Liberty who gave birth to nine puppies at the White House.

1977 - 1981 Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter gave a dog as a gift to his daughter Amy. The dog was a mongrel who was called Grits.

 

1981 - 1989 Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan owned two dogs, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel called Rex and a Bouvier des Flandres called Lucky. The President was photographed being dragged across the White House lawn by Lucky in the presence of Margaret Thatcher. An undignified image for the President of the USA. Lucky was sent to live in California leaving just Rex, the little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel at the White House.

 

American Presidents and their Dogs

1989 - 1993 George H W Bush
George H W Bush owned a Springer Spaniel called Millie and her puppy named Ranger. "Millie", the Springer Spaniel, has been the subject of a book which has sold more copies than the autobiography of George Bush himself.

1993 - 2001  President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton owned a chocolate Labrador called Buddy
The TV cameras caught him relieving himself on the carpet! Buddy was barely in the White House a month before Newsweek proclaimed, “At last, a friend who can’t testify against him.”

2000 President George W Bush

President George W Bush's dogs include a Scottish terrier named Barney and an English springer spaniel named Spot. Spot was named after Scott Fletcher, a former Texas Rangers baseball player. President Bush's dog Spot is the only dog to live in the White House during two administrations. Spot was born to Millie, George H.W. Bush's dog, when George H.W. Bush was President. Spot was given to his son George W. Bush who returned the Terrier to the White House for his term of office.

2009 President Barack Obama
From the beginning of his presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised to buy his daughters Malia and Sasha a dog whether he won the presidential election or not. In January 2009, President Obama kept
his word and 'Amigo's New Hope' which his daughters have nicknamed 'Bo' moved into the Whitehouse. Bo is a black-and-white Portuguese water dog and was a gift from Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who also owns Portuguese water dogs. Portuguese water dogs are known as working dogs and are recognised for their intelligence, strength, and stamina.

American Presidents and their dogs
The stories of the American Presidents and their Dogs make fascinating reading. Other stories about Famous Dogs and their Owners are featured in a separate section. Try out your knowledge of dogs, including the American Presidents and their Dogs by visiting our Dog Quiz - Can you make it to the 'Winner's Hall of Fame' ?

Dog Quiz

 

Dog Breeds Alphabet

Dog Names & Breeds Site Index Famous Dogs
American Presidents - Dogs - Dog - Names - Types - Facts - Info - Information - Breeds - US - United States - Presedents - Presedent - President - George Washington - Thomas Jefferson - James Monroe - Abraham Lincoln - Ulysses S Grant - Rutherford Hayes - Grover Cleveland - Benjamin Harrison - Theodore Roosevelt - Dogs - Dog - Woodrow Wilson - Warren Harding - Calvin Coolidge - Herbert Hoover - Franklin D Roosevelt - Harry S Truman - Dwight D Eisenhower - John F Kennedy - JFK - Lyndon B Johnson - LBJ - Richard Nixon  - Gerald Ford - Jimmy Carter - George Bush - Dogs - Dog - Bill Clinton - American Presidents - Dogs - Dog - Names - Types - Facts - Info - Information - Breeds - US - United States - Presedents - Presedent - President - George Washington - Thomas Jefferson - James Monroe - Abraham Lincoln - Ulysses S Grant - Rutherford Hayes - Grover Cleveland - Benjamin Harrison - Theodore Roosevelt - Dogs - Dog - Woodrow Wilson - Warren Harding - Calvin Coolidge - Herbert Hoover - Franklin D Roosevelt - Harry S Truman - Dwight D Eisenhower - John F Kennedy - JFK - Lyndon B Johnson - LBJ - Richard Nixon  - Gerald Ford - Jimmy Carter - George Bush - Dogs - Dog - Bill Clinton - American Presidents - Dogs - Dog - Names - Types - Facts - Info - Information - Breeds - US - United States - Presedents - Presedent - President - George Washington - Thomas Jefferson - James Monroe - Abraham Lincoln - Ulysses S Grant - Rutherford Hayes - Grover Cleveland - Benjamin Harrison - Theodore Roosevelt - Dogs - Dog - Woodrow Wilson - Warren Harding - Calvin Coolidge - Herbert Hoover - Franklin D Roosevelt - Harry S Truman - Dwight D Eisenhower - John F Kennedy - JFK - Lyndon B Johnson - LBJ - Richard Nixon  - Gerald Ford - Jimmy Carter - George Bush - Dogs - Dog - Bill Clinton - Written By Linda Alchin