I'm Mr. Beat, and these are my pets.
Go on now.
Ellie: meow
Don't poop on that rug.
Ellie: meow
But what about all of the American President’s Pets?
Well, the White House has been home to lots of strange creatures over the years, and that’s just the humans amirite?
(fake sitcom laugh)
But seriously, here’s a rundown of all of the President’s pets, and some of them will likely surprise you.
So first we got George Washington of course.
We're going in order.
And George Washington had, ya know, the usual dogs and horses.
He had American Foxhounds, Sweetlips, Scentwell, and Vulcan, among others.
He had Black and Tan Coonhounds named Taster, Tipler, and Tipsy and one named Drunkard.
He had a Greyhound named Cornwallis.
Named for General Cornwallis, of course.
Washington was a pretty big dog breeder, but these were just the dogs that lived with him in the executive mansion, so keep that in mind.
His horses included Nelson and Blueskin
who he had during the American War of Independence.
And also some stallions, Samson, Steady, Leonidas, Traveller, and Magnolia.
And he had a donkey. It was a royal gift from King Charles III from Spain.
And First Lady Martha Washington had a parrot named Snipe.
John Adams had dogs and horses as well.
His dogs were Juno, Mark, and...yeah, Satan was the actual name of one of them.
And his horses Cleopatra and Caesar.
Thomas Jefferson. This is where it gets a little unusual.
He did have a horse named Caractacus, named after a 1st century British chieftain.
And he also had another horse named Young Fearnought.
And he had some dogs, shepherd dogs from France.
Bergere and Grizzle, but
he had a mockingbird named Dick.
That was his favorite one. He also had three other mockingbirds while he was President.
And he had, and I'm not joking, two grizzly bear cubs
a male and female pair that were given to him by Captain Zebulon Pike
the same guy who Pike's Peak is named after.
But they were a little too dangerous
uh, and so he gave them up to Charles Willson Peale
for his museum in Philadelphia.
James Madison only had a parrot named Polly.
Not a very creative name, but Polly outlived both James and Dolley Madison, by the way.
James Monroe had an unnamed Spaniel
and a Siberian Husky named Sebastian.
John Quincy Adams...this is where it starts to get more interesting.
He had silkworms.
Yeah, First Lady Louisa Adams actually spun their silk.
And this is probably just a myth, but uh
this is a widely circulated story
than an alligator belonged to Marquis de Lafayette
while he lived for a couple months in the East Room
during the John Quincy Adams Presidency.
It probably didn't really happen, but ya never know.
Andrew Jackson had some roosters who would fight to the death.
That's appropriate for Jackson.
He also had many horses...Bolivia, Emily, Lady Nashville, Sam Patch, and Truxton.
Sam Patch was named after the famous daredevil known as "The Yankee Leaper."
And he had a gray parrot who, as it turned out
had a filthy mouth. It knew a lot of cuss words.
And later at Jackson's funeral,
he was swearing so much and so loudly
that uh, the parrot had to be escorted out of the funeral.
He was just cussing too much. Too much profanity.
Martin Van Buren owned two tiger cubs
given to him by the sultan of Muscat and Oman
before Congress forced him to get rid of the tigers
and so he donated them to the zoo.
William Henry Harrison had a goat
and a cow named Sukey.
John Tyler had an Italian Greyhound named Le Beau
a horse named The General
and a canary named Johnny Ty.
James K. Polk was one of two Presidents who did not have a pet
while living in the executive mansion.
The other President who has never had a pet is the current President, Donald Trump.
Zachary Taylor had a horse named Old Whitey.
That was the horse that he rode during the Mexican American War.
And then he had a pony named Apollo
which was formerly a trick pony
from a circus
and given to Taylor's daughter, Betty while Taylor lived at the White House.
Apollo shared a stable with Old Whitey.
Millard Fillmore had two ponies...Mason and Dixon
named after Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon of the Mason-Dixon line fame.
Franklin Pierce kind of symbolizes the opening of trade with Japan.
He had at least two miniature Japanese teacup chin dogs
part of a gift exchange with Japan, and also two birds from Japan.
James Buchanan had an eagle.
Yep, an eagle, and then a toy terrier named Punch and a Newfoundland named Lara.
Abraham Lincoln had a couple horses. One of them was named Old Bob.
He had a rabbit. He had cats, Tabby and Dixie.
The first two cats in the executive mansion. Lincoln once said that Dixie "is smarter than my whole cabinet."
He was kind of a cat lady, really, and he took in strays all the time.
He also had dogs, Jip and Fido.
Fido is today kind of a generic name for a dog
but this is only because of Lincoln's famous dog
who was also "assassinated"
by a drunk with a knife
just a few months after Lincoln was assassinated.
And then of course, Lincoln had goats.
Nanny and Nanko
and he had a turkey named Jack which was supposed to be Christmas dinner
but Tad Lincoln intervened and said "no, let's keep it as a pet!" and so they just kept it.
Andrew Johnson never officially had pets, but
he did feed white mice
that he found in his bedroom while he was President.
Ulysses Grant had a dog named Rosie
a Newfoundland named Faithful
two ponies named Billy Button and Reb
and of course horses.
Butcher's Boy, Cincinnati, Egypt, and Jeff Davis were horses that he rode during the Civil War.
He also had Jennie, Julia, Mary, and St. Louis.
Rutherford Hayes had a cocker spaniel named Dot, a Newfoundland named Hector
an English Mastiff named Duke, a greyhound named Grim
a miniature Schnauzer named Otis
hunting dogs named Juno and Shep
another dog named Jet
and then cats.
He had a cat named Piccolomini. The first Siamese cat in the United States was Rutherford's cat Siam
and he also later had a Siamese cat named Miss Pussy.
James A. Garfield had a horse named Kit and a dog named Veto.
Chester Arthur had three horses
unnamed and a rabbit unnamed.
Grover Cleveland had three wiener dogs
a Japanese poodle named Hector
this random dog
and mockingbirds. Cleveland also had a bunch of exotic fish.
Benjamin Harrison had a collie named Dash
and he also had a goat named Whiskers which he kept at the White House for his grandchildren.
Here's a weird one. Harrison also had opposums.
Yeah, named for the 1896 Republican Party platform, so they were called Mr. Reciprocity and Mr. Protection.
And this is probably true,
he had two alligators and they were kept by his son Russell Harrison
in the White House Conservatory.
William McKinley had a yellow-headed Mexican parrot that could whistle Yankee Doodle named Washington Post.
He also had some roosters
and Angora kittens
named after the Spanish general Valeriano Weyler and Spanish ambassador Enrique Dupuy de Lome
Now Theodore Roosevelt had more pets than any other President in American history.
It was pretty much a zoo when he was there at the White House so we'll just go in alphabetical order here by their names.
We had Admiral Dewey, Bishop Doane, and Dr. Johnson Father O'Grady and Fighting Bob Evans who were all guinea pigs.
Algonquin, who was a calico pony.
Roosevelt's son Archie liked to ride him around.
Baron Spreckle, who was a hen. Bill the Lizard, who was a lizard...yes.
Blackjack, a Manchester terrier
Eli Yale, a macaw
Emily Spinach, who was a garter snake that
was named by Roosevelt's daughter Alice
because "it was as green as spinach and as then as my Aunt Emily."
A pony named Fedelity, dogs named Gem and Susan
terriers Jack and Peter
Jonathan Edwards, a small black bear
from West Virginia
a rat named Jonathan
a badger named Josiah
a Pekingese named Manchu, a pig named Maude
a rabbit named Peter Rabbit, who even had a proper state funeral after he died.
A bull terrier named Pete, a St. Bernard named Rollo
a mongrel named Skip
a Chesapeake Bay retriever named Sailor Boy
two cats named Tom Quartz and Slippers
a laughing hyena named Bill
Yep, Roosevelt was the only one to have a hyena.
A barn owl, and a lone-legged rooster
because I guess the two-legged roosters weren't available.
So yeah, uh, Theodore Roosevelt loved animals.
He also loved to hunt animals.
William Howard Taft had a dog named Caruso
and two cows named Mooly Wooly and Pauline Wayne.
I'm telling you, the names for these animals...that's the best part.
Woodrow Wilson had a terrier named Davie
a ram named Old Ike
a cat named Puffins
a bull terrier named Bruce
and some songbirds, and apparently as many as 48 sheep.
The flock, ya know, they kept the lawn trimmed.
Warren Harding’s dog, Laddie Boy, was the first to get regular newspaper coverage.
He also had a bull dog named Old Boy
and a canary named Petey and a squirrel named Pete.
Calvin Coolidge also loved pets similar to Theodore Roosevelt.
So yeah, let's start with the dogs.
There was Rob Roy and Prudence Prim
who were collies. Peter Pan, a wire-hair fox terrier
Paul Pry, an Airedale terrier
Calamity Jane, a Shetland sheep dog
Tiny Tim and Blackberry, Chow Chows
Ruby Rouch, a Collie, Boston Beans, a Boston bulldog
King Cole, a Belgian sheepdog
Palo Alto, and English setter
Bessie, a Collie
Rebecca, a raccoon who was also originally intended for a Thanksgiving feast
but First Lady Grace ended up saying "no, let's...let's keep it as a pet."
And she had a tree house built for it
and she even put it on a leash and walked it.
And then later there was another raccoon at the White House named Reuben.
He was a companion for Rebecca, ya know.
Ebeneezer, a donkey
Nip and Tuck, canaries
Peter Piper and Snowflake, two more canaries
a yellow bird named Goldy, a songbird named Do-Funny
a goose named Enoch
a bobcat named Smoky
Lion cubs, and their names were Tax Reduction and Budget Bureau.
That fits Calvin Coolidge very well.
And then regular domesticated cats named Blacky and Tiger.
A pigmy hippopotamus named Billy
An unnamed wallaby, and unnamed very small type of antelope called a duiker
another black bear called Bruno
Yeah, uh, Grace promptly sent him to the zoo.
and then finally 13 ducklings
Woo! That was a lot Calvin Coolidge.
When Herbert Hoover ran for President in 1928
his advisors thought it was a good idea for him to get photographed with King Tut….no no not the ACTUAL King Tut….yeah his Belgian shepherd named King Tut.
Hoover’s advisors thought the publicity stunt would help get him elected, and it probably did. Hoover took King Tut all the way to the White House.
Hoover also had an opossum called Billy Possum
a roller canary called Caruso
a German Shepherd named Pat
Marks, an English Setter
fox terriers named Big Ben and Sonnie
a Scotch collie named Glen
a Canadian Eskimo dog named Yukonan
an Irish wolfhound named Patrick
a setter named Eaglehurst Gillette
and a Norwegian Elkhound named Weegie.
Franklin D. Roosevelt had a German Shepherd named Major
who was formerly a police dog.
A Scottish terrier named Meggie.
a Setter named Winks.
an Old English Sheepdog named Tiny.
a Great Dane named President.
a Bull Mastiff named Blaze
and finally, the most famous Presidential pet in American history, Fala...a Scottish terrier.
Originally called Big Boy, Roosevelt renamed him Murray the Outlaw of Falahill after John Murray of Falahill...one of his famous ancestors.
Since that was a lot to say, of course folks later shortened it to just Fala.
He was always doing cool tricks on the White House lawn, and the reporters were always writing about him.
As FDR ran for a fourth term in 1944, some of those reporters pushed the rumour that he had spent millions of taxpayers’ dollars to go back to get Fala after he’d been accidentally left behind in the Aleutian Islands.
FDR completely denied it, later saying “you can criticize me, my wife, and my family, but you can’t criticize my little dog.
He’s Scotch and all these allegations about spending all this money have just made his little soul furious.”
Fala is the only presidential pet honored as a statue at a memorial. There he is at Washington, D.C.’s Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.
Harry Truman had a cocker spaniel named Feller
and an Irish setter named Mike.
Dwight D. Eisenhower had a parakeet named Gabby
and a dog named Heidi.
John F. Kennedy had quite a few pets his short time in office.
He had a poodle named Gaullie
a Welsh terrier named Charlie
a German Shepherd named Clipper
an Irish cocker spaniel named Shannon
an Irish wolfhound and Schnauzer mix named Wolf.
He had a Doberman pincher named Moe
a dog named Pushinka
and the offspring Butterfly, White Tips, Blackie, and Streaker
a cat named Tom Kitten
a canary named Robin
parakeets named Bluebell and Marybelle
a rabbit named Zsa Zsa, a horse named Sardar, some hamsters named Billie and Debbie
and of course all the ponies. He had Leprechaun
a gift from President de Valera
the president of Ireland
and Tex and Macaroni and so, you know, he had to have ponies for his daughter, Caroline.
Caroline also raised ducklings at the White House.
Lyndon Johnson had lovebirds, hamsters
a mongrel dog named Yuki
a white collie named Blanco
a Beagle named Freckles
another Beagle named Edgar
and the most famous beagles of all, Him and Her.
Yep, that’s Johnson picking up Her by their ears.
A lot of people were upset by this, but Harry Truman later said: "That's how you handle hounds."
Richard Nixon, uh, he had Checkers
which went back to when he was Vice President.
Checkers was the dog from the famous “Checkers speech,” in which Nixon denied having a slush fund but admitting that Checkers was the gift he was not giving back.
Nixon: And you know, the kids like all kids
love the dog.
and I just want to say this right now, that regardless of what they say about it
we're gonna keep him.
And that’s when everyone fell in love with Nixon, ya know.
But yeah, also in the White House
Nixon had a poodle named Vicki
a terrier named Pasha
and an Irish setter named King TImahoe.
Gerald Ford had a golden retriever named Liberty.
Liberty's daughter was Misty, born at the White House.
He also had a dog named Lucky and a Siamese cat named Shan.
Jimmy Carter had a border collie mix named Grits
an Afghan hound named Lewis Brown
and also a Siamese cat named Misty Malarky Ying Yang.
I'm sure Joe Biden would not have liked that cat.
Ronald Reagan had a dog named Lucky
a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Rex
who also got a lot of publicity.
a golden retriever named Victory
an Irish Setter named Peggy, a Siberian Husky named Taca, a Belgian sheepdog named Fuzzy
and he also had cats, Cleo and Sara
and horses, who were all back at his ranch.
George H.W. Bush had a Springer Spaniel named Millie
and one of Millie's puppies named Ranger.
Bill Clinton had a cat named Socks
and a Chocolate Labrador Retriever named Buddy.
George W. Bush had a dog named Spotty
a couple of Scottish terriers...Barney and Miss Beazley
a cat named India "Willie"
and a Longhorn cow back at his ranch called Ofelia.
Barack Obama had two Portuguese water dogs named Bo and Sunny.
It’s estimated that there have been more than 400 pets who have called the White House home, even though it wasn’t called the White House until Teddy Roosevelt began calling it that, but you know what I meant.
Guess what? There’s a Presidential Pet Museum in Annapolis, Maryland and you should definitely check it out.
However, right now I think it's closed due to renovations
but once it's back open, check it out...oh my gosh
my dog just pooped on my rug.
You're gonna make me clean that up, aren't you?
A shout out to Zachary F. Parker, who suggested this video. He is a Patreon supporter, and I made the video because of that, so thank you Zachary.
So which President had the coolest pets? What kind of pet should President Trump get?
Let me know in the comments below. I vote ferret, by the way. Thanks for watching!