▲The 42nd President of the United States adopted a stray cat called Socks and later dubbed the First Cat of the United States.

▲Socks was the principal pet of the First Family until the president acquired Buddy, a Labrador Retriever. Unfortunately, the two animals just did not see eye to eye.

▲In fact, Fala became one of the most famous presidential pets and is remembered forever along with his master at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, in Washington, D.C.

▲The 30th President of the United States owned a variety of pets, including a raccoon called Rebecca, and Billy, a pygmy hippopotamus.

▲The nation's first president, George Washington, once received an Andalusian donkey as a gift from King Charles III of Spain. His great love, though, was for dogs and horses.

▲Early pets included a lively quartet of black and tan Coonhounds: Drunkard, Taster, Tipler, and Tipsy.

▲The third President of the United States had a soft spot for birds, and is believed to be the first president to have had a pet that lived in the White House.

▲The president was particularly taken with mockingbirds. One, named Dic, was allowed to fly around his study, and would often perch on his master's shoulder.

▲The 14th President of the United States was one of the least popular of America's leaders. Unusually, his taste in pets was distinctly Oriental.

▲Besides keeping two birds from Japan, the president had at least two Japanese Chin dogs, part of a gift exchange between the two countries.

▲Often cited as among the greatest of US presidents, Lincoln became the 16th President of the United States in 1861. He kept a number of pets, several of them domestic animals.

▲The oddest pet, and certainly the luckiest, was a wild turkey called Jack. Originally intended as a Christmas dinner, the bird escaped its fate after Lincoln's son, Tad, intervened. Today, US presidents traditionally spare a turkey from ending up on the Thanksgiving table.

▲Rutherford B. Hayes enjoys a unique place in the annuals of presidential pets. A Siamese cat was among the many animals the 19th President of the United States owned.

▲Called, rather unimaginatively, Siam, the feline was a gift from the American consulate in Bangkok, in 1878. It was the first documented Siamese cat to reach the United States.

▲A liking for cats didn't deter the 25th President of the United States from also keeping birds.

▲Along with roosters, the president cared for a yellow-headed Mexican parrot. Named Washington Post for reasons only known to McKinley, he taught his feathered friend to whistle 'Yankee Doodle.'

▲The 26th President of the United States is noted for his work in conservation of natural resources and protection of land and wildlife.

▲Throughout his presidency he owned many pets, one of which was a black bear cub, whom he named Jonathan Edwards, after the theologian. Roosevelt himself lent his name to the popular teddy bear toy.

▲The 31st President of the United States was well known for his affection for canines, although at one point he owned two alligators.

▲FDR, the 32nd President of the United States, had several pet dogs but the most famous was a Scottish Terrier called Fala.

▲Kennedy's White House was home to a number of different pets, but there were two animals that the 35th President of the United States had particular reason to recall.

▲Billie and Debbie were two golden hamsters that joined the First Family in 1961. The pair escaped on their second night in the White House and were only captured after the president cornered the mischievous rodents under his bed.

▲LBJ served as the 36th President of the United States. His pets included hamsters and lovebirds, but he was a dog lover at heart.

▲He owned several canines, but his favorite breed was the beagle. At one point he had two, called Him and Her.

▲A dog lover, the 37th President of the United States once owned a Cocker spaniel, which his children named Checkers. The name also referred to a political speech the then California Senator gave in 1952.

▲Nixon's successor, Gerald Ford, became the 38th President of the United States in 1974. Another dog lover, his most celebrated pet was Liberty, a golden retriever, given to the president as an eight-month-old puppy.

▲During his tenure as the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter owned two dogs.

▲George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States, includes cats and dogs in his list of White House pets.

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India "Willie" Bush was an American Shorthair black cat that lived in the White House with the First Family, and indeed passed away there shortly before the Bush clan vacated the premises.

▲Bo was later joined by Sunny, a female dog of the same breed. Portuguese water dogs are a fairly rare breed and unique for having webbed toes for swimming.

▲Elected in 2009 as the 44th President of the United States, Obama opted for a male Portuguese water dog, naming it Bo.

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Joe Biden restored tradition upon moving into the White House with two presidential dogs. Donald Trump was reportedly the first president since James Polk in 1849 not to have a pet while in office, claiming that he wouldn’t mind having a dog, but asking, “How would I look walking a dog on the White House lawn?” The Bidens also brought a cat into the White House, in what some said was a symbol of Biden’s efforts to unite the divided nation: starting with bridging cat people and dog people.

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Indeed, President Joe Biden brought two German shepherds to his new job, Champ and Major, the latter of whom was the first shelter dog to ever make it to the White House. Unfortunately, Major is also the reason the dogs were sent away from the White House, as reports stated Major had a "biting incident" with a member of White House security. That was likely compounded with that fact that he's a young dog with a lot of energy, as First Lady Jill Biden told Kelly Clarkson on her show in February 2021. Both dogs were temporarily sent to the Biden family home in Delaware.

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The first, a Border Collie called Grits, was actually given to his daughter Amy by her teacher but had to be returned after snapping at the heels of several White House visitors.

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But his favorite was a white male Collie called Rob Roy. He could often be seen walking the dog with wife Grace on the White House lawn.

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He was especially fond of King Tut, his beloved Belgium Shepherd, a breed of medium-to-large size herding dog.

▲For United States Presidents, having a pet in the White House completes the First Family lineup. But the choice of First Pet has varied enormously since George Washington first allowed his hounds to wander the corridors of power.

Browse the gallery for fun facts and odd stories behind the favorite pets of presidents.

Meet the pawsidents: fun facts and odd stories about pets of presidents

The Commander-in-Chiefs' furry sidekicks

23/09/24 por StarsInsider

LIFESTYLE Pets

For United States Presidents, having a pet in the White House completes the First Family lineup. But the choice of First Pet has varied enormously since George Washington first allowed his hounds to wander the corridors of power.

Browse the gallery for fun facts and odd stories behind the favorite pets of presidents.