Raccoons, Possums And Dogs: The Most Famous Pets Of American Presidents

2023 Author: Henry Pass | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 21:12

Immediately after Joe Biden's victory in the US presidential election, it became known that together with him and the first lady, their dogs, the German shepherds Major and Champ, would also get to the White House. Thus, the president-elect will renew the long tradition of keeping animals in residence, which was interrupted for 4 years - Donald Trump did not have pets. However, among the main pets of the country were not only ordinary dogs or cats, but also much more exotic animals! Let's talk about the most interesting of them.

Sheeps

During World War I, the 28th US President Woodrow Wilson kept a flock of sheep in the courtyard of the White House to help the military in the fighting. In addition, the sheep "mowed" the lawns while the president's gardeners were at war: the animals ate the growing grass. The sheep were later trimmed and their wool sold to raise funds for the American Red Cross.

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Opossum

Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States, kept … a possum in the White House! The President and his wife accidentally found a lost wild animal, "adopted" it and named it Billy Possum. Also, under Hoover, a canary, a German and Belgian shepherd dog and a Norwegian elkhound managed to be noted in the White House.

Snakes

The biggest animal lover among US presidents can be considered Theodore Roosevelt. The 26th President kept dogs, cats, songbirds, a guinea pig and … snakes in his residence! True, all this was not the idea of Roosevelt himself: his children had pets, and the president had six of them. One day, Quentin, the president's son, took several snakes from a pet store and ran into his father's office to boast of the find. However, he did not calculate that at that moment an important working meeting was taking place there, fell and scattered reptiles on the president's table!

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Raccoon

30th President Calvin Coolidge and his wife, Grace, were also huge animal lovers. They had dozens of pets that roamed freely around the White House. Their most famous pet was a female raccoon named Rebecca. It was originally supposed to be … dinner for them! Yes, the Ambassador of Peru sent the raccoon to the Thanksgiving table to the White House. However, the first lady literally fell in love with the adorable animal and realized that she could not let her go to the stew. True, Rebecca was not very fond of the servants at the presidential residence: it is reported that White House workers were annoyed by her habit of climbing on furniture, scratching it with claws.

Dogs

However, dogs were the favorite animals of almost all presidents. Barack and Michelle Obama kept two Portuguese Wasserhund, Richard Nixon an English Cocker Spaniel. Theodore Roosevelt Fal's Scottish Terrier even helped him win the fourth election in his life: during the debate, the president mentioned his favorite in a speech against his political opponents, which helped him to become president for the first time in history for the fourth time in a row! Fala also attended all important work meetings and events with Roosevelt, and often appeared on television and in newspapers. Donald Trump was the first president to not have any pets. And this feature did not like many voters. In his own words, he considered the idea to have a dog "fake". "Just imagine how I will look, walking with the dog on the White House lawn"- Trump said. We are not sure if this influenced the decision of the electorate, but, as we know, he lost the last presidential election. But Joe Biden won - the happy owner of two German shepherds. So very soon the dog barking will again be heard in the White House.