Happy Presidents’ Dogs Day

Having a dog in the White House is nothing new. 32 U.S. Presidents enjoyed the company, friendship, and loyalty of their canine companions. The love of a good dog disregards politics.

Oh, the next time you have trouble coming up with a name for a new puppy, check out some of the names our Presidents gave their canine friends.

George Washington (no party): 1st U.S. President (1789-1797)
Sweet Lips, Scentwell and Vulcan: American Staghounds
Drunkard, Taster, Tipler, and Tipsy: Black and Tan Coonhounds

John Adams (Federalist): 2nd U.S. President (1797-1801)
Juno and Satan: Abigail Adams’s two mixed-breed dogs

Thomas Jefferson (Democrat-Republican): 3rd U.S. President (1801-1809)
Buzzy and unknown: Briards

James Monroe (Democrat-Republican): 5th U.S. President (1817-1825)
Buddy: Spaniel

John Tyler (Whig-no party): 10th U.S. President (1841-1845)
Le Beau: Italian Greyhound

Franklin Pierce (D): 14th U.S. President (1853-1857)
Seven miniature “Oriental dogs”

James Buchanan (D): 15th U.S. President (1857-1861)
Lara: Newfoundland
Punch: Toy Terrier

Abraham Lincoln (R): 16th U.S. President (1861-1865)
Fido: Dog

Ulysses S. Grant (R): 18th U.S. President (1869-1877)
Faithful: Newfoundland
Rosie: Dog

Rutherford B. Hayes (R): 19th U.S. President (1877-1881)
Dot: Cocker Spaniel
Hector: Newfoundland
Duke: English Mastiff
Grim: Greyhound
One of the canine additions to the White House under the Hayes administration was Grim, a beautiful 2-year-old greyhound. In his journal, Hayes wrote of Grim, “He is good-natured and neat in his habits…and took all our hearts at once.” Although the other first dogs’ “noses were out of joint” upon Grim’s arrival, Hayes wrote that they all adjusted eventually to his presence. The sleek, well-behaved Grim soon became a celebrity and was a favorite with photographers. Grim’s favorite person in the family, however, was first lady Lucy Hayes. “How happy old Grim always was when she returned after an absence,” Hayes wrote.
Juno and Shep: Hunting Dogs
Jet: Dog

James A. Garfield (R): 20th U.S. President (1881-1881)
Veto: Dog
As for Veto the Newfoundland’s time in office, a couple of amazing stories about this presidential pet survive. From a 1954 article in the Lewiston Evening Journal, we learn: He was “… a true protector. Once Veto held the reins of a valuable horse on a rampage in the barn, and Veto kept on holding the stamping horse until help arrived.” “On another occasion, when the barn caught fire, it was Veto’s barking that sounded the alarm.”

Grover Cleveland (D): 22nd & 24th U.S. President (1885-89/1893-97)
Hector: Poodle
Cocker Spaniel
Collie
St. Bernard
Foxhounds
Dachshunds

Benjamin Harrison (R): 23rd U.S. President (1889-1893)
Dash: Collie

Theodore Roosevelt (R): 26th U.S. President (1901-1909)
Pete: Bull Terrier
Skip: Rat Terrier
Jack and Peter: Terriers
Blackjack: Manchester Terrier
Manchu: Pekingese
Rollo: Saint Bernard
Sailor Boy: Chesapeake Bay Retriever
Gem and Susan: Dogs

William Howard Taft (R): 27th U.S. President (1909-1913)
Caruso: Dog

Woodrow Wilson (D): 28th U.S. President (1913-1921)
Davie: Airedale Terrier
Mountain Boy: Greyhound
Bruce: Bull Terrier

Warren G. Harding (R): 29th U.S. President (1921-1923)
Laddie Boy: Airedale Terrier
Old Boy: Bulldog

Calvin Coolidge (R): 30th U.S. President (1923-1929)
Rob Roy and Prudence Prim: White Collies
Peter Pan: Terrier
Paul Pry: Airedale Terrier
Calamity Jane: Shetland Sheepdog
Tiny Tim and Blackberry: Chows
Ruby Rouch: Brown Collie
Boston Beans: Bulldog
King Cole: German Shepherd
Palo Alto: Bird dog
Bessie: Collie
The Coolidge family’s beautiful white collies, Prudence Prim and Rob Roy, were a striking pair. Following on the heels of her predecessor, Florence “Flossie” Harding, First Lady Grace Coolidge enjoyed the new idea of White House photo opportunities, and she often posed with one or both of her collies. A fan of animals of all sorts — including a raccoon named Rebecca — Mrs. Coolidge had a particular fondness for Prudence Prim. The feeling was mutual. The dog, about 1 year old when she arrived at the White House in October 1925, demonstrated her endless patience by enduring a straw bonnet decorated with ferns and ribbons tied onto her head for a White House garden party. The First Lady even had calling cards designed that featured Prudence Prim. When she made a visit, she would leave her own card and the dog’s card behind.

Herbert Hoover (R): 31st U.S. President (1929-1933)
King Tut: Belgian Shepherd
Pat: German Shepherd
Big Ben and Sonnie: Fox Terriers
Glen: Scotch Collie
Yukonan: Eskimo Dog
Patrick: Irish Wolfhound
Eaglehurst Gillette: Setter
Weejie: Norwegian Elkhound

Franklin D. Roosevelt (D): 32nd U.S. President (1933-1945)
Fala: Scottish Terrier
Fala was quite famous and traveled to many places with the President. He had a bone every morning brought up on the president’s breakfast tray. Fala got a full dinner every night. During the day, Fala would beg for food from the White House staff. He was so cute that he was fed all the time and became sick. The staff was asked not to feed him extra food. At night, he slept in a special chair at the foot of the president’s bed. Fala traveled with the president on long and short trips by train, car, or boat.
Majora: German Shepherd
Meggie: Scottish Terrier
Winks: Llewellyn Setter
Tiny: Old English Sheepdog
President: Great Dane
Blaze: Elliot Roosevelt’s bullmastiff

Harry S. Truman (D): 33rd U.S. President (1945-1953)
Feller: Cocker Spaniel
Mike: Irish Setter (Margaret Truman’s Irish setter)
Truman angered dog lovers all across the country when he gave away a dog [Feller] that a supporter had sent him. A woman from his home state of Missouri sent him a cocker spaniel puppy named Feller, but Truman gave Feller away to his personal physician. “Thousands [of angry Americans] wrote letters telling the president,” according to a Newseum exhibit on presidential pets. A few months later, a reporter asked, “Mr. President, whatever happened to Feller?” — to which the president responded, “To what?” “Feller, the puppy,” said the reporter. “Oh, he’s around,” Truman replied. Feller eventually wound up at a farm in Ohio, where he lived happily for many years until he died of old age. Readers should note that every U.S. president since Truman has had — and quite enjoyed having — a dog at the White House.

Dwight D. Eisenhower (R): 34th U.S. President (1953-1961)
Heidi: Weimaraner

John F. Kennedy (D): 35th U.S. President (1961-1963)
Pushinka: Mutt (gift of Russian premier, puppy of Soviet space dog Strelka)
Shannon: Irish Cocker Spaniel
Wolf: (Mutt, possibly part Wolfhound and Schnauzer)
Clipper: German Shepherd
Butterfly, White Tips, Blackie, and Streaker: Offspring of Pushinka and Charlie (his daughter Caroline’s Welsh Terrier)
Gaullie: Poodle

Lyndon B. Johnson (D): 36th U.S. President (1963-1969)
Him and Her: Beagles (Him was the subject of controversy; in 1964, President Johnson lifted the dog up by its ears, claiming “it’s good for [him].”)
Edgar and Freckles: Beagles
Blanco: White Collie
Yuki: Mixed-Breed

Richard M. Nixon (R): 37th U.S. President (1969-1974)
Vicki: Poodle
Pasha: Terrier
King Timahoe: Irish Setter
Checkers: Cocker Spaniel (Checkers died while Nixon was vice-president, before becoming president, but had played a major role in his electoral career with the “Checkers Speech”) From Checkers we get “Dogs in Politics Day,” which always falls on September 23rd.

Gerald Ford (R): 38th U.S. President (1974-1977)
Liberty: Golden Retriever
Misty: Liberty’s puppy born in the White House
Lucky: Dog

Jimmy Carter (D): 39th U.S. President (1977-1981)
Grits: Border Collie
Lewis Brown: Afghan Hound

Ronald Reagan (R): 40th U.S. President (1981-1989)
Lucky: Bouvier des Flanders
Rex:  Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (First Dog of the United States)
Victory: Golden Retriever
Peggy: Irish Setter
Taca: Siberian Husky
Fuzzy: Belgian Sheepdog

George H. W. Bush (R): 41st U.S. President (1989-1993)
Millie: Springer Spaniel (First Dog of the United States)
Ranger: One of Millie’s puppies

Bill Clinton (D): 42nd U.S. President (1993-2001)
Buddy: Bill’s chocolate Labrador Retriever (First Dog of the United States, b.1997-Jan 2, 2002)

George W. Bush (R): 43rd U.S. President (2001-2009)
Spot “Spotty” Fetcher (Mar 17, 1989 – Feb 21, 2004): Female English Springer Spaniel named after Scott Fletcher; puppy of Millie; euthanized after suffering a series of strokes.
Barney: Scottish Terrier (First Dog of the United States, 2000 – Feb. 1, 2013)
Miss Beazley (Oct 28, 2004 – May 17, 2014): Scottish Terrier; Nicknamed “Beazley Weazley, “ a 2005 birthday gift from George to his wife. Miss Beazley was born October 28, 2004. After the Bushes left the White House, Miss Beazley lived in Dallas, Texas with them. According to Mrs. Bush, Miss Beazley was distraught over her friend Barney’s death in early 2013. “Miss Beazley really seems to be sad… she seems a little lost looking for Barney,” she told reporters. On Saturday, May 17, 2014, Miss Beazley died after a battle with cancer. She was nearly 10 years old, and her death leaves Bo and Sunny Obama as the only living presidential pets.

Barack Obama (D): 44th U.S. President (2009-Incumbent)
Bo: Portuguese Water Dog (First Dog of the United States)
Sunny: Portuguese Water Dog (August, 2013)

To learn more about the Presidential pets:

Dogtime: http://dogtime.com/dog-health/general/5668-list-of-us-presidents-and-their-dogs
Presidential Pet Museum: http://presidentialpetmuseum.com/whitehousepets-1/