All of the Pets That Have Ever Lived in the White House

Since 1789, there have been 45 presidents across 46 presidencies. But not every president had pets (Donald Trump) or lived in the White House (George Washington). So who did and what kind of animals walked, crawled, or slithered the halls of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave? Read on to discover all of the pets that have ever lived in the White House, starting from our current president.

Joe Biden

In total, Joe Biden has lived with four pets in the White House — three dogs and one cat.

The president and first lady moved into the White House with their dogs, Champ and Major. Out of all of the pets that have ever lived in the White House, Major is the first shelter dog.

President Biden was also gifted Commander, the German shepherd. In a way, they were also gifted, Willow, a Tabby cat who slinked on stage at a speech the president was giving. She soon became a part of the family.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama lived with two dogs at the White House during his two terms as president.

The Obamas did not have pets before he moved into the White House. But soon after, they got a hypoallergenic Portuguese water dog named Bo. Sunny, a female dog of the same breed, wasn’t far behind.

George W. Bush

George W. Bush had three dogs and one cat in the White House during his two terms as president.

Spotty was the offspring of the Bush’s English springer spaniel, Millie. They also had two Scottish terriers named Barney and Miss Beazley. George W. Bush’s black cat, India, was a family favorite as well despite the controversy over her name.

Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton lived with one cat and one dog in the White House during his presidency.

Socks, their cat, moved into the White House with them. They later added a Labrador retriever named Buddy to the family in 1997.

George H. W. Bush

George H. W. Bush had two pets who lived in the White House: dogs named Millie and Ranger.

Remember Millie? She was an English springer spaniel and the mom to Spotty and Ranger. Spotty lived with George H. W. Bush’s son in the White House during his presidency while Ranger stayed with George Bush Senior during his.

Ronald Reagan

While Ronald Reagan had many pets living on his ranch in California, only two dogs ever lived in the White House with him during his presidency.

Those two dogs were Lucky, a bouvier des Flandres, and Rex, a cavalier King Charles spaniel.

Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter had three pets during his presidency, but that didn’t last long.

Grits, a border collie mix, was a gift for his daughter that had to be returned shortly after they moved in due to his behavior. President Carter’s daughter also had a Siamese cat she named Misty Malarky Ying Yang.

It’s reported that he also owned an Afghan hound named Lewis Brown, but it’s not known if he lived in the White House during Carter’s term.

Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford lived with two dogs and one cat in the White House during his presidency.

His golden retriever dog Liberty lived with him and gave birth to Misty in the White House. A Siamese cat named Shan lived in the White House during Ford’s term as well.

Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon had three prized pets living with him in the White House while he was president: Vicky the poodle, Pasha the Yorkshire terrier, and King Timahoe the Irish setter.

His dogs were with him from the day he was inaugurated to the day he resigned. Everyone, including his pets, relocated to California when he left office.

Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) had many pets living at the White House — nine dogs, plus hamsters and lovebirds!

Many of the dogs were beagles, like the famous Him and Her. Freckles and Kim (Him’s offspring) and Dumpling and Little Chap (Freckles’ offspring) were other beagles born and raised in the White House. The last beagle for the Johnsons was Edgar, a gift from J. Edgar Hoover to LBJ.

The only two non-beagles were Blanco, a white collie, and Yuki, a mixed breed. LBJ also kept hamsters and lovebirds in the White House for his children.

John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy (JFK) lived with an array of pets in the White House during his tenure as president — 13 in total!

• Debbie and Billie the hamsters
• Tom Kitten the cat
• Robin the canary
• Marconi and Tex the ponies
• Pushinka, the offspring of space dog Strelka, was a gift from Soviet Union Premier Nikita Khrushchev
• Charley the Welsh terrier
• Clipper the German shepherd
• Shannon the cocker spaniel
• Maybelle and Bluebell the parakeets
• Wolf the Irish wolfhound

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower only lived with two pets during his presidency.

Gabby the parakeet and Heidi the Weimaraner kept him (and White House tourists) company. However, Heidi was soon sent to the family’s ranch in Pennsylvania when her behavior became too unruly.

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman was not known as a pet lover, so you might be surprised to know he was gifted a cocker spaniel puppy soon into his presidency.

Feller was a sweet dog, but was quickly rehomed because the Trumans “preferred to be a pet-free family.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Unlike Truman, Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) was a dog person who brought his Scottish terrier named Fala to the White House to live with him during his presidency.

Fala became quite the celebrity, gaining attention from ordinary citizens to the Secret Service and other White House staff.

Herbert Hoover

Like JFK, Herbert Hoover filled the White House with his menagerie of pets during his presidential term:

• King Tut the Belgian Malinois who was Hoover’s favorite dog
• Big Ben and Sonnie the fox terriers
• Pat the German shepherd
• Inglehurst Gillette the Gordon setter
• Patrick the Irish wolfhound
• Weegie the Norwegian elkhound
• Kitty the Persian cat
• Caruso the Roller Canary
• Billy Possum the wild opossum who wandered onto White House grounds

Other pets that came and went quickly include Mark, an English setter; Whoopie, a schnauzer; Yukon, a Siberian husky; Shamrock, an Irish wolfhound; Buckeye, a Belgian Malinois; Big Boy, a fox terrier; and Glen, a collie. They were either given to White House staff, family, or rehomed.

Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge was another president who had a variety of pets living in the White House with him during his presidency — 34 in total at one time or another.

Peter Pan was the first Coolidge family dog to reside in the White House. But soon came Paul Pry, Rob Roy, Beans, Prudence Prim, Tiny Tim, Calamity Jane, Blackberry, and King Cole. Some of their dogs were rehomed to friends, family, or staff, but others stayed throughout his tenure.

Tiger and Blacky were the first of his cats in the White House during his term, but they weren’t the only ones! Bounder and Mud also resided in Washington, D.C.

Other animals he brought into the White House included:

• Nip and Tuck the green birds
• Snowflake and Peter Piper the canaries
• Goldy the yellow bird
• A Mockingbird who was illegal to have as a pet in D.C. so they kept it a secret
• Do-Funny the yellow and blue bird who sang for Mrs. Collidge
• Rebecca the raccoon who was beloved by the press
• 13 Pekin Ducks who were raised in a White House bathroom but ended up at a zoo

Warren G. Harding

Warren G. Harding, president from 1921-1923, had a few different pets in the White House with him during his term — two dogs, a canary, and a squirrel.

Laddie Boy the Airedale terrier is the most famous, but Old Boy the bulldog was family too. They named their canary and squirrel Petey and Pete, respectively.

Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson kept many an animal in the White House and on its grounds during his presidency.

He is famously known for bringing sheep (48 of them at one point!) to trim the White House lawn during the war. But he owned other pets too, like Davie the Airedale terrier, Bruce the bull etrrier, and Puffins the cat.

He also kept songbirds around and got Old Ike, a ram, to lead the flock of sheep he had chowing down on the grassy lawn.

William Taft

William Taft had a much more manageable three pets during his time in the White House. However, two of them were quite interesting animals to have as pets.

They had a small, white dog named Caruso. Taft’s daughter got the dog as a gift from Enrico Cariso, the famed opera singer. The family also had two cows — Mooly Wooly and Pauline Wayne — who both lived at the White House.

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt is famously known for the unique pets he brought to the White House during his presidency.

Among Roosevelt’s dogs, cats, birds (like a large blue macaw), and guinea pigs, he also had:

• Emily Spinach the garter snake
• A one-legged rooster
• A hen named Baron Spreckle
• Josiah the badger
• Algonquin the pony

William McKinley

William McKinley lived with quite a few pets at the White House including a parrot, two Angora kittens, and several roosters.

At one point, McKinley appointed his parrot as the official White House greeter due to his friendly nature.

Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison brought his dog, goat, and two opossums into the White House when he became president.

Between 1889 and 1893, he got a few more dogs that lived with him in Washington as well. Whiskers the goat and the two opossums — Mr. Reciprocity and Mr. Protection — stayed at the White House for when Harrison’s grandchildren came to visit.

Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland lived with a variety of pets during his two non-consecutive terms as president.

Hector the German poodle, Millie the fox terrier, Gallagher the cocker spaniel, and three dachshunds in addition to several mockingbirds, canaries, and fish were among the pets that graced the halls of the White House. Nelly the fawn was also brought to the White House for Cleveland’s wife as a gift.

Chester A. Arthur

Chester A. Arthur is a president known for not having traditional pets during his time in the White House. Instead, he owned three pet horses.

Two of them were perfectly matched reddish-brown horses that Arthur loved to adorn in fancy tack as they pulled his carriage.

James Garfield

James Garfield was a more simple man than most, only bringing two pets to the White House during his presidency.

Kit was his wife’s horse and the family had a Newfoundland dog named Veto.

Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford B. Hayes was known to have many dogs (among other animals) during his time in the White House.

Like Garfield, he had a Newfoundland. But he also had a cocker spaniel, English mastiff, greyhound, miniature schnauzer, their hunting dogs Juno and Shep, and a mixed breed named Jet.

Hayes’ other animals were:

• Piccolomini the cat
• Siam, the First Siamese cat in the United States
• Miss Pussy the Siamese cat
• A goat
• A mockingbird
• Several canaries
• Jersey cows
• Horses

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant brought a Newfoundland dog named Faithful to the White House, just like Garfield and Hayes. He also had many other pets during his presidency including 10 horses, a parrot, and another dog (not a Newfoundland) named Rosie.

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln had a soft spot for animals. It’s no surprise then that he brought a variety of pets to live with him in the White House.

His pets ranged from the standard cats, dogs, and horses to goats, rabbits, and a turkey he pardoned whom he affectionately named Jack.

James Buchanan

Newfoundland dogs were popular back in the 1800s, as James Buchanan also lived with one in the White House during his term as president.

He also brought Punch the toy terrier and a pair of bald eagles with him to Washington, D.C. The eagles went to live at his home in Pennsylvania shortly after arriving at the White House though.

Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pierce enjoyed dogs more than any other pet, but he became especially attached to a Japanese chin he was gifted from the Japanese. Six of the seven dogs he was gifted went to friends and staff, while one stayed to live in the White House with him.

Among the gifts from the Japanese were two birds as well.

Millard Fillmore

Millard Fillmore, like many other presidents that come after him, took to naming their White House pets after political happenings during their term.

At the time, Fillmore did this when he named his two horses Mason and Dixon.

Zachary Taylor

Like Fillmore, Zachary Taylor brought his two horses — Old Whitey and Apollo — to live with him during his time in the White House.

Old Whitey was Taylor’s mount during wartime and Apollo was a circus pony bought for his daughter.

John Tyler

John Tyler is reported to have brought three pet dogs, one horse, and a canary with him to the White House.

Le Beau was an Italian greyhound but the other dog breeds and names are unknown. Tyler also owned a horse named The General and a canary named Johnny Ty.

William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison was only president for 32 days from March to April of 1841.

During his short time as president, he had a pet cow named Sukey as well as a pet goat living with him on White House grounds.

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson is famously known for bringing a grey parrot named Polly to the White House during his presidency. Polly learned to swear and caused quite a scene when she attended (and disrupted) Jackson’s funeral.

The president also owned five horses and several fighting cocks, which he kept on the White House grounds.

James Monroe

James Monroe is rumored to have lived with one dog, a spaniel who belonged to his daughter. However, it’s not known if this dog was ever in the White House during Monroe’s presidency.

We do know he brought sheepdogs to his Virginia farm as working dogs, but not to Washington, D.C.

James Madison

James Madison, despite his 8-year tenure in the White House, only brought one pet along: A parrot named Polly. Polly was actually his wife’s pet, who outlived both James and Dolley Madison.

Thomas Jefferson

Unlike Madison, Thomas Jefferson had many animals who lived in the White House with him during his presidency.

One of which was a magpie, gifted to him from the Lewis and Clark expedition as a pet. He also had 2 briards named Bergère and Grizzle. The most surprising pets were two grizzly clubs, who wandered the White House lawn along with:

• Peacocks
• Partridges
• Mockingbirds
• Horses
• Sheep

John Adams

John Adams lived with four of his pets during his presidency. Two dogs, Juno and Satan, and two horses, Cleopatra and Caesar.

In fact, these were the first animals on White House grounds! Construction wasn’t completed until 1800. That’s when Adams, his wife, and four pets moved in.

George Washington

George Washington, a Founding Father, set a precedent for presidential pets. He didn’t think he was too proud or too busy to leave his animals behind.

In fact, he brought over 30 dogs and eight horses to his Mount Vernon home (the White House wasn’t built until after his presidency). He used his pets to go fox hunting, his favorite pastime.

The hounds we know Washington owned during his presidency were:

• Drunkard
• Mopsey
• Taster
• Cloe
• Tipsy
• Forester
• Captain
• Lady Rover
• Vulcan
• Sweet Lips
• Searcher
• Madam Moose

Additionally, Washington brought several horses to Mount Vernon, including Samson, Steady, Leonidas, Traveller, and Magnolia. Nelson and Blueskin, his mounts during wartime, came as well.

His wife, Martha Washington, also had a parrot.

Summary of All of the Pets That Have Ever Lived in the White House

Whew! When you’re covering all of the presidential pets that have ever lived in the White House, the list gets long. Let’s recap what we just learned.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Pach Brothers / public domain – License / Original