Jan 21, 20214 min read

Presidential Pups

Updated: Jan 22, 2021

A look at the wagging tails that wiggled through White House history

George Washington

According to the American Kennel Club, Washington was the first to breed the American Foxhound. An avid hunter, Washington took special interest in breeding and kept a full kennel at Mount Vernon. His love for dogs even outweighed any enmity toward his enemies. After suffering yet another defeat to the British Army, General Howe's dog was found on the battlefield by American soldiers. When his men suggested holding the dog for ransom, Washington refused and had the little fellow returned with a note reading, “General Washington’s compliments to General Howe, does himself the pleasure to return him a Dog, which accidentally fell into his hands, and by the inscription on the Collar appears to belong to General Howe.”

Sweetlips, Scentwell, and Vulcan – American Foxhounds

Drunkard, Taster, Tipler, and Tipsy – Black and Tan Coonhounds

Cornwallis – Greyhound

John Adams

Juno, Mark, and Satan were the first dogs to live in the White House. We don’t know much about the Adams pups, but wouldn’t it be great to find out how Satan got his name?

Thomas Jefferson

Bergère and Grizzle – shepherd dogs from France, possibly Briards

James Monroe

Spaniel – Appropriately named, Spaniel belonged to the president’s youngest daughter Maria.

Sebastian – Siberian Husky

John Tyler

Le Beau – Italian Greyhound

Franklin Pierce

Pierce kept at least two of the seven miniature "teacup" Japanese Chin dogs which were gifted to him from the Japanese government following the Perry Expedition. The others were gifted to friends and cabinet members.

James Buchanan

Lara – Newfoundland

Punch – Toy Terrier

Abraham Lincoln

Fido – Though his breed is unknown, his popularity is responsible for "Fido" becoming a generic name for a dogs.

Jip

Ulysses S. Grant

Faithful – Newfoundland

Rosie

Rutherford B. Hayes

Dot – Cocker Spaniel

Hector – Newfoundland

Duke – English Mastiff

Grim – Greyhound

Otis – Miniature Schnauzer

Juno and Shep – Hunting dogs

Jet

James A. Garfield

Veto - Appropriate name for a president, no?

Grover Cleveland

Hector – Japanese Poodle

Three Dachshunds

Benjamin Harrison

Dash – Collie

Theodore Roosevelt

Blackjack – Manchester Terrier

Gem and Susan

Jack and Peter – Terriers

Manchu – Pekingese

Pete – Pete the Bull Terrier was unfortunately relocated to Long Island "after chomping on one too many legs.” Not exactly diplomatic behavior!

Rollo – Saint Bernard

Skip – mongrel

William Howard Taft

Caruso – Poodle. After performing at the White House, opera singer Enrico Caruso gifted Taft’s daughter Helen this namesake pup. The family had kept cows up to that point, which the singer deemed an inappropriate pet for a little girl. Caruso was valued at $5,000 when he went missing in March of 1913 on the even of the Taft’s Australia trip. Thankfully we was found and returned two days later.

Woodrow Wilson

Davie – Airedale Terrier

Bruce – Bull Terrier

Warren G. Harding

Laddie Boy – Airedale Terrier

Laddie Boy joins in on President Harding's photo shoot

Old Boy – Bulldog

White House kennel master Wilson Jackson with Old Boy and Laddie Boy

Calvin Coolidge

Rob Roy and Prudence Prim – White Collies. These two did not live on White House property.

Peter Pan – Wirehair Fox Terrier, the Coolidges' first White House dog

Paul Pry – Airedale Terrier, half-brother of Warren Harding's Laddie Boy

Calamity Jane – Shetland Sheepdog

Tiny Tim and Blackberry – Chow Chows

Grace and Calvin Coolidge with Blackberry and Rob Roy

Ruby Rouch – Collie

Boston Beans – Boston Bulldog

King Cole – Belgian Sheepdog (Groenendael)

Palo Alto ("Palo") – A black and white English Setter that Coolidge gifted to Colonel Starling, chief of the Secret Service detail in the White House

Bessie – Collie

Herbert Hoover

King Tut – Belgian Shepherd (Malinois variety)

Pat - German Shepherd

Big Ben and Sonnie – Fox Terriers

Glen – Scotch Collie

Yukonan – Canadian Eskimo Dog

White House kennel master Harry Waters with Pat, Marks, Patrick, and Eaglehurst Gillette

Patrick – Irish Wolfhound

Eaglehurst Gillette – Setter

Weegie – Norwegian Elkhound

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Fala – Scottish Terrier

Fala goes for a ride with President Roosevelt

Major – German Shepherd. Major formerly served as a New York State Police dog.

Meggie – Scottish Terrier

Winks – Llewellyn Setter

Tiny – Old English Sheepdog

President – Great Dane

Blaze – Bullmastiff

Harry S. Truman

Feller – Cocker Spaniel. Feller's time with the family was brief. He was given while still a puppy to Truman's personal physician.

Mike – Irish Setter

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Heidi – Weimaraner

Heidi welcomes director of the Tailwaggers Club

John F. Kennedy

Kennedy wins the top prize for president owning the most dogs at a whopping 11!

Gaullie – Poodle

Charlie – Welsh Terrier

Moe - Doberman Pincher

Moe celebrating Kennedy's congressional win

Pushinka – mix. “Pushinka” is Russian for fluffy, and she certainly was! Soviet Union Premier Nikita Khrushchev sent Pushinka as a gift to Kennedy’s daughter Caroline. Though not a purebred, Pushinka’s pedigree is out of this world, literally! Her mother was Strelka, the space dog who orbited earth on Sputnik 2.

Charlie and Pushinka on White House Lawn

Shannon – Cocker Spaniel

Wolf – Irish Wolfhound and Schnauzer Mix

Clipper – German Shepherd

Butterfly, White Tips, Blackie, and Streaker – Offspring of Pushinka and Charlie

Lyndon B. Johnson

Him, Her, Edgar, and Freckles – Beagles

Blanco – White Collie

Yuki – mongrel. Yuki was famous for "singing duets" (howling) with the President for White House guests.

Richard Nixon

Vicki – Poodle

Pasha – Yorkshire Terrier

King Timahoe – Irish Setter

Pasha, Vicki, and King Timahoe at White House

Checkers – Cocker Spaniel

Gerald Ford

Liberty – Golden Retriever

Lucky

Misty – Liberty's puppy, born in the White House

Jimmy Carter

Grits – Border Collie Mix. Grits’ time at the White House was brief due to snapping at White House visitors. Not everyone is up for life in the limelight!