Which president had the weirdest pet?

Top prize for the oddest (and perhaps most dangerous) First Pet went to John Quincy Adams, who is said to have kept an alligator in the East Room. So much for the calming embrace of animal affection after a tough presidential day.


What was the most unusual presidential pet?

Below, Business Insider looks at seven of the strangest.
  • A dog named Satan. John Adams, the second president of the United States Wikimedia Commons. ...
  • An alligator in the bath tub. ...
  • A foul-mouthed parrot called Poll. ...
  • Two tiger cubs. ...
  • Sheep on the White House lawn. ...
  • A pet raccoon called Rebecca. ...
  • Macaroni, the White House pony.


What was the craziest pet in the White House?

Here are nine of the strangest pets owned by former presidents of the United States of America.
  • Donkeys. Calvin Coolidge and the great George Washington had donkeys on the White House grounds. ...
  • Coonhounds. ...
  • Eagles. ...
  • Alligators. ...
  • Bears. ...
  • Hyena. ...
  • Mice. ...
  • Goats.


Which president had an alligator for a pet?

Did you know President John Quincy Adams had a pet alligator? He kept it in a bathtub in the East Room of the White House. But President Adams wasn't the only commander-in-chief with an unusual pet.

What president had a raccoon?

Rebecca was a raccoon kept as a pet by US president Calvin Coolidge and First Lady Grace Coolidge. Washington D.C. Rebecca came from Mississippi. She had been sent to the White House to be served for the 1926 Thanksgiving dinner.


All the Presidents' Pets



Which president had a hippo?

Billy, or William Johnson Hippopotamus, (Before 1927 – October 11, 1955) was a pygmy hippopotamus given to U.S. President Calvin Coolidge. Captured in Liberia, he was given to Coolidge by Harvey Samuel Firestone in 1927.

Which president had a snake?

President Theodore Roosevelt was noted for his love of animals, and he passed this gift on to his children, all of whom had several pets during their own lifetimes. Some of those pets were a bit non-traditional and even caused a stir on occasion.

Which president had a pet elephant?

President Dwight Eisenhower greets Dzimbo, a 440-pound baby elephant, 1959. President Dwight Eisenhower greets Dzimbo, a 440-pound baby elephant, a gift from the French territories in west-central Africa in 1959. Dzimbo made his permanent home at the National Zoo.


What president had a pet squirrel?

Pete: Truman's White House Squirrel.

Which president had a pet lion?

President Theodore Roosevelt and family were prolific pet owners and animal lovers.

What is the most famous presidential pet?

George and Barbara Bush's dog Millie, may have been the most famous presidential dog. Millie was an English Springer Spaniel that even had her own memoir. The book, Millie's Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush reached the New York Times Best Seller list in 1992.


Which president had a pet tiger?

Tiger (Tige) – Blacky and I were the first of the Coolidge cats to live in the White House. President Coolidge liked to wear me around his neck. I loved to explore, and the first time that I escaped, I went all the way to the Lincoln memorial!

Has any president ever had a cat?

President Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)

The Coolidges owned a menagerie of pets, complete with a few felines. The 30th president′s cats included Tiger, Blacky, Bounder, Timmie and even a bobcat named Smoky. Blacky regularly enjoyed cream in a saucer and liked to hang out in the White House elevator.

Which president had a goat?

Benjamin Harrison, our 23rd President, gave his grandchildren numerous pets. Among them was a goat named His Whiskers, who frequently pulled the children around the White House lawn in a cart.


Which president had a cat named Socks?

President Bill Clinton (1993-2001) owned two pets, a cat named Socks and a dog named Buddy.

What pets did JFK have?

Clipper: German Shepherd. Shannon (gift from the Barry Family in Ireland, 1963): Cocker Spaniel. Wolf (gift from Father Thomas Kennedy in Ireland, 1963): Irish Wolfhound. Pushinka/Charlie Pups: Butterfly, White Tips, Blackie, and Streaker.

What president had a pet possum?

president, Benjamin Harrison served our nation from 1889 to 1893. It was widely known that President Harrison had a fondness for animals, including the marsupial of choice…the opossum. While in office, President Harrison was known for having two pet opossums in the White House.


Which president had a duck?

Presidential Pets (1959-2000) Caroline Kennedy's pet ducks waddle across the White House lawn. Caroline Kennedy's father was President John F. Kennedy (1961-63).

Which president had a lizard?

Our 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt, began his Presidency in 1901, along with six children and more animals than the White House had ever seen. The Roosevelt children's family of pets included a small bear named Jonathan Edwards; a lizard named Bill; guinea pigs named Admiral Dewey, Dr.

Which president had a pet grizzly bear?

Thomas Jefferson received a pair of grizzly bears as a gift from Captain Zebulon Pike in 1807. The bears arrived at about the same time as Pike's letter (October 1807) explaining that he had acquired the male and female cubs in the southern region of the great Continental Divide.


Which president had a hamster?

Billie and Debbie were Syrian hamsters who were United States presidential pets in the care of Caroline Kennedy during the presidency of her father John F. Kennedy. They joined the First Family at the White House in January 1961.

Which president had a pet fish?

Grover Cleveland was both the 22nd and the 24th President of the United States, and to this day remains the only President to ever have served 2 non-consecutive terms. He and his wife Frances loved animals and kept several with them both at the White House and in their other lifetime homes.

Which president had a bobcat?

President Calvin Coolidge and wife Grace had an incredible assortment of pets during their time in the White House. Some pets were traditional – dogs, cats, birds – while others fell into a far more exotic category. Smoky the bobcat is one such pet.


Which presidents did not own dogs?

During his presidency, Donald Trump bucked any number of traditions, including the presence of a White House pet. Most presidents over the years have brought one or more animals into the White House. In fact, James Polk and Donald Trump are the only presidents to never have a First Pet.

What president had a zebra?

President Theodore Roosevelt and his family were great animal lovers and as such, during their time in the White House they were often gifted with unusual animals by foreign dignitaries. One such animal was an unnamed zebra.