• Thirty-sixth U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson came under fire in 1964 for his treatment of his pair of beagles, Him and Her. When LBJ was photographed lifting Him up by his ears, the Humane Society of Texas publicly denounced Johnson, calling for an apology. The President issued a statement, defending Him’s yelps as “a sound of joy.” Her died later that year after swallowing a rock, and Him perished two years later after being hit by an executive chauffeur.
• As First Daughter Chelsea Clinton left her piano lesson in 1991, a cat leaped into her arms, one that would be taken home to the White House. Socks the Cat was the official presidential pet for six years until 1997 when a Labrador Retriever was introduced to the family. Socks the Cat and Buddy the Dog loathed each other at first sight. Socks lost the battle when the Clintons left the White House in 2001, taking Buddy with them, and giving the cat to the President’s secretary.
• George H.W. Bush’s English Springer Spaniel, Mildred Kerr Bush, nicknamed Millie, was once called “the most famous dog in White House history.” George mentioned Millie in a 1992 speech while campaigning for re-election, referring to the opposing candidates when he said, “My dog Millie knows more about foreign affairs than these two bozos.” In 1990, Millie was credited as the author of “Millie’s Book,” a children’s book actually authored by Barbara Bush, but written from the perspective of Millie. The book was Number One on The New York Times bestseller list. Millie was portrayed in episodes of TV’s “Murphy Brown,” “Wings,” “Who’s the Boss,” and “The Simpsons.” A Houston, Texas dog park is named in her honor. The 12-year-old Millie died in 1997 of pneumonia.
• Seventh president Andrew Jackson, a war hero of the War of 1812, was the owner of a parrot named Poll, a bird that first belonged to his wife Rachel. Following her death, Jackson was Poll’s caretaker for 17 years. When Jackson died in 1845, the parrot was brought to the funeral, where he began squawking and swearing in the voice of his owner. The cursing was never-ending, and the foul-mouthed Poll had to be removed from the service held at Jackson’s Nashville home, The Hermitage.
• During his presidency, Ronald Reagan owned six different dogs – Rex, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Victory, a Golden Retriever, the Irish setter Peggy, a Siberian husky named Taca, Fuzzy the Belgian sheepdog, and Lucky, a Bouvier des Flandres, a Belgian herding dog breed.
• Theodore Roosevelt brought a baby badger home from a 1903 trip out west, and named it Josiah. Josiah was only one of the sizable menagerie of pets kept by the Roosevelt family and their six children. A black bear named Jonathan Edwards was allowed to roam the grounds of the White House, along with Maude the pig, Algonquin the pony, Peter the rabbit, a hyena, and five dogs. A lizard, five guinea pigs, and feathered friends – a macaw, a hen, a one-legged rooster, and a barn owl – completed the collection. Daughter Alice was the owner of a Pekingese named Manchu, a gift from the last empress of China during a trip there.
