Oval Office Oddities

by Bill Fawcett

  WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

  President Taft loved to drink fresh milk. So much so that he had a purebred Holstein cow named Pauline Wayne that he was very fond of, and who had the privilege of often grazing on the White House lawn. It is reported that Taft was so large and drank so much of Pauline’s milk every morning at breakfast that on one occasion he became lodged in the White House bathtub and had to ask his aides to extract him. The White House physician instructed him to lighten up on his milk consumption and, soon after, Pauline Wayne became the last cow at the White House.

  WOODROW WILSON

  President Woodrow Wilson wanted to set an example of working for the war effort by conserving, and that is why it is reported he had a herd of sheep graze on the White House lawn during his administration. One of the flock was a big ram named Ike, who was fond of tobacco and on several occasions he was reported as the president’s “tobacco-chewing ram and pet.” The president said the sheep kept the grass in check so the manpower could be off fighting the war. While dogless in the White House, Wilson is known to have said, “If a dog won’t look you in the face, you had better look yourself in the mirror and examine yourself.”

  WARREN HARDING

  Laddie Boy, an Airedale terrier, was so popular with the press, the public, and his adoring owners, Warren and Florence, that he stood higher in the popularity polls than they did. He even had his own cabinet chair so he could sit in on cabinet meetings with the president. They threw him a birthday party every year and allowed him to join in on most formal functions. Harding was considered one of our worst presidents, but Laddie Boy was adored by the public. Many newspaper boys across the country contributed pennies to a fund to create a statue of the deceased dog and raised enough for a life-size statue made from copper pennies that is now exhibited at the Smithsonian. The Harding also had an English bulldog named Big Boy and three canaries.

  CALVIN COOLIDGE

  Calvin and Grace Coolidge had a zoo at the White House. Most famous and beloved was the white collie, purchased from Thomas and Olive Shover, who owned Shomont White Collies. They also entertained and cared for Peter Pan, a terrier, and Paul Pry, an Airedale who was originally named Laddie Buck. Rob Roy was their white collie, and he was originally named Oshkosh. Grace Coolidge loved to change the names of her pets, or else she just couldn’t make up her mind what name suited the animals best. Also adored by Mrs. Coolidge was Calamity Jane, a Shetland sheepdog. Tiny Tim, a chow, was also sometimes called His Highness. Blackberry was also a chow, but was not as well known as Tiny Tim. The Coolidges also had a rough brown collie named Ruby Rough. They also had Boston Beans, who is mentioned as a bulldog by some reporters but was actually a Boston terrier. King Kole was a police dog of the German shepherd type, although pedigree papers have not been found. Bessie, a yellow collie, is well-documented, as most of his collies were from the Shomont line. Their stay in the White House also shows that they had a bird dog named Palo Alto, and perhaps for him they added Nip and Tuck (two yellow canaries), Snowflake (a white canary), and Old Bill (a thrush). Enoch was a goose and they also kept a mockingbird for a period of time. Finally there was Tiger, an alley cat; Blacky, another cat; and Rebecca and Horace, raccoons. Mrs. Coolidge loved showing off her pet raccoons and often walked them on leashes around the White House grounds. During Easter week, she would put bonnets on her collies. Then, we must not forget Ebenezer, the donkey, and Smokey, a bobcat. There was also lion cubs, a wallaby, a pygmy hippo, and a bear. Many of these exotic animals were given to them by dignitaries or heads of state from other countries. Many of them helped to populate the National Zoo.

  HERBERT HOOVER

  President and Mrs. Hoover loved their dogs and kept several with them at the White House. The most well-known was King Tut, who was of German shepherd descent, but often called a Belgian sheepdog. While, in fact, President Hoover was a likable and friendly gentleman, his public image was of an austere and cold machine-like man. It is reported that the circulation of a photo of him holding King Tut up by the paws was so successful in humanizing the nominee, that he was elected. King Tut was a one-man dog and eventually became so protective of the president and the White House grounds that he was sent back to their previous home, where he pined away for his master and died. Another shepherd, named Pat, one of Mrs. Hoover’s favorites, tried to take the place of the belligerent King Tut, but could not. Big Ben and Sonny, two wirehaired fox terriers, were fun and pleasure for the couple, and so was Glen, a purebred collie. Yukon was a purebred Eskimo dog, and Patrick was one of a pair of wolfhounds that were also well bred and became well established with the couple. Eaglehurst Gillette, a setter, and Weejie, an elkhound from the famous Hemson kennel of Ski in Norway, were prominent members of the household.

  The story goes that the president even adopted an opossum that wandered onto the White House grounds and was thought to be the escaped mascot of the nearby Hyattsville baseball team. Hoover had grown rather attached to the friendly opossum, but rather than have the team think he had “swiped” the mascot, he presented it back to them and they went on to win the state championship.

  FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT

  Fala, a Scottish terrier, the most famous pet to have lived in the White House, was the beloved companion of Franklin Roosevelt. His one distinguishing feature was he was never, well hardly ever, groomed. Even his impressive bigger-than-life statue at the Roosevelt memorial in Washington, D.C., shows him to be the shaggy rascal that he was in real life. We are told today that when George W. Bush wanted his Scottie, Barney, shaggy to copycat Fala, it was pointed out that Democrats and their dogs are more untidy and a Republican Scottie should be the epitome of good grooming. So the public sees a very tidy twosome in Barney and Miss Beasley, but they can never replace the incomparable Fala.

  HARRY S. TRUMAN

  The dog-loving public thought Harry was a dog hater when he sent the adorable little cocker spaniel puppy, named Feller, packing. How could our president not keep such a wonderful gift? Harry had a hard time making up for that blunder, but when the public got used to seeing Margaret, his daughter, with an Irish setter they called Mike, they forgave him. Mike, however, did not thrive, developed rickets, and was sent to a farm before the Trumans left the White House.

  DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

  President Eisenhower had two Scottie dogs before he entered the White House, but one of his main pets during his administration was Heidi, a Weimaraner who had the run of the mansion at various times—until she soiled the carpets and jumped on Mrs. Eisenhower when photographers were trying to take her picture. Heidi was sent back to their Gettysburg farm, where protocol was not enforced for dogs. As a hunter, Eisenhower was fond of his many bird dogs, but it was Heidi who got to visit and stay at the White House for a while. At that time the Ghost Dogs, as they were sometimes referred to, got a big boost in American Kennel Club registrations due to Heidi’s affection for the president.

  JOHN F. KENNEDY

  Animals abounded during Camelot. From a white rabbit named Zsa Zsa to a pony named Macaroni, the John F. Kennedy family had more four-legged creatures around than two-legged. John and Caroline had horses, birds, fish, turtles, rabbits, dogs, and more dogs, and then puppies when their Sputnik dog, Pushinka, a present from Nikita Khrushchev, mated with their beloved Welsh terrier, Charlie, and four pupniks, as the president called them, arrived.

  LYNDON B. JOHNSON

  Lyndon Johnson, one of our most dog-loving presidents, learned a hard lesson when showing off for photographers. He became famous for lifting his beloved beagles, Him and Her, up by their ears. “Oh they love it!” But the public thought differently and the outcry over his cruelty was surprising. After untimely deaths, the two beagles were followed by Yuki, a mongrel dog that his daughter, Luci, rescued from the highway. Yuki was the most adored by all and often joined the president for a howling session in the Oval Office.

  Lyndon Johnson with grandson Patrick Nugent and dog Yuki

  RICHARD NIXON
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br />   Tricky Dicky was famous for his Checkers speech, which he gave when he was a candidate for vice president, as he had been accused of taking gifts and gratuities in exchange for favors. He said he would give a full accounting, but would not give back their little dog Checkers, a cocker spaniel, whom his daughters adored. His appeal was so heartfelt, it helped convince Eisenhower to keep him as his running mate. True dog lovers, the Nixons entered the White House with two dear pets, a Yorkie named Pasha and a poodle named Vicky. They were joined by a well-bred Irish setter named King Timahoe. After Richard Nixon resigned, they all joined the family on Air Force One and flew back to California.

  GERALD FORD

  The Ford family entered the White House dogless, but since President Ford had always been an admirer of golden retrievers, it wasn’t long before one excellent specimen joined the family. Named Liberty, she was often seen with the president in the Oval Office and on the grounds. Her litter of eight pups at the White House was a very blessed and happy event, but it didn’t help Ford overcome the public impression of him as a bumbler. The pups all found happy homes, with one being owned by White House staffer Dale Haney, who served many presidents and was their pets’ best friend. Ford learned quickly not to walk Liberty after hours—he was caught by the Secret Service trying to get back in the White House after finding himself locked out.

  JIMMY CARTER

  The Carters had one noticeable pet episode while at the White House, which the press played to the fullest. Amy Carter got a mixed breed dog that her fifth-grade teacher gave her as a present. Called Grits, the pup was so uncooperative in helping to promote Heartworm Awareness Week that it would not let the veterinarian give it a pill. That, coupled with relieving herself on the Lincoln carpet…well, the dog was returned. Everyone breathed a sign of relief, as Grits did not get along with Amy’s Siamese cat Misty Malarky Ying Yang. Like Democrats and Republicans, dogs and cats have not carved out a working relationship with each other in the history of White House pets. Even today, Willie, Bush’s black cat, tries to hide and avoid the terriers.

  RONALD REAGAN

  This story comes “from the horse’s mouth,” as this author had the privilege of being the official groomer of President and Mrs. Reagan’s White House pet, a Bouvier des Flandres dog named Lucky. On the occasion of having her formal doggy canine photo taken, I was called to the White House to groom the shaggy, active young puppy. As much of her hair fell to the ground, I scooped it up and into my grooming kit for posterity. The hair from the president’s dog! Now that’s something, and when the photo was turned into a portrait of Lucky, it became the cornerstone of the Presidential Pet Museum thirteen years later. Within a few months, rambunctious Lucky was sent to the ranch, but her short stay in the White House laid the foundation for a museum that tells the story of American history through the eyes of the pets.

  GEORGE H. W. BUSH

  Millie had puppies at the White House. It was the second litter born since Ford’s Liberty, and one pup went on to be a second generation White House pooch when the son, George W., and his wife, Laura, took up residence there. Millie, a springer spaniel, also had a bestselling book, ghostwritten by Barbara, that outsold the president’s memoirs.

  WILLIAM CLINTON

  Socks came to the White House with the Clintons and reigned supreme until the chocolate lab, Buddy, broke on the scene. There was dislike between them, and at the end of his administration, Socks went off to live with President Clinton’s secretary, Betty Currie, and Buddy enjoyed his life at Chappaqua, New York, until he was struck and killed by a car. Bill Clinton is quoted as having said his only friends at the time of his impeachment ordeal were his cat and his dog. Socks was so popular with the public she had her own fan club for eight years, and children all over the country wrote to her.

  GEORGE W. BUSH

  Here comes Barney Bush! He is making history by being the third White House pet in history to have a bronze sculpture made of him. He has been sculpted by famous dog artist, American Kennel Club judge, and professional handler Richard Chashoudian of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The first is a likeness of Laddie, the Airedale terrier of Warren Harding, made from melted-down copper pennies donated by newsboys around the country to honor his beloved dog, and the second is the great, most famous White House dog of all time, Fala, whose bigger-than-life statue is with his master at the FDR memorial in D.C. While not a “show specimen,” Barney is the president’s buddy, and though he is a fairly obstinate and tails-down, bad-mannered terrier, he does give the president a softer image. Barney even snapped at the president’s mother, and for most photo ops, he would rather be off doing his thing than showing off for the camera. Miss Beazley, on the other hand, is Miss Personality and a happy-go-lucky girl who helps bring a bag of sunshine and good cheer to an administration badly in need of brighter days.

  Credit: The White House

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  PRESIDENTIAL PASTIMES

  Okay, you are the most powerful man in the nation, or later, the world. But what can you do for fun? A lot it seems.

  PHILATELIST

  Because of his crippled legs, Franklin Delano Roosevelt could only indulge in less active hobbies. (No, we are not referring to his wife’s assistant, who was his regular mistress.) But FDR took to his hobbies with the same enthusiasm he had for other things. The hobby he enjoyed the most was stamp collecting. He had a massive collection and was often given stamps by other world leaders. It was estimated that he had over twenty thousand stamps in his collection.

  SEEDING THE ELECTORATE

  For a period early in U.S. history, it was not uncommon for congressmen to give out seeds. This is because of the efforts of the second president, John Adams. Adams was a dedicated horticulturist and during his presidency the Horticultural Gardens in Washington were established. As commander in chief, Adams instructed the officers of the U.S. Navy to gather seeds from useful plants in every port they visited. These seeds were then turned over to the Gardens and often also later to members of Congress. The nation was still very agricultural in those days and every member’s district contained many farms. The seeds were distributed to these farmers and many new cotton, rice, corn, and other crops were introduced due to Adam’s program.

  FORE

  President Taft was a workaholic who rarely engaged in sports. That made it a surprise when he accepted a bet on a golf game. The bet was for one thousand dollars (worth $25,000 today), a considerable amount of money at the time. The wager was that he could shoot a score of under one hundred on the Myopia Golf Course near Boston. Myopia was considered one of the most difficult courses in the United States. In the days of all-wooden clubs and relatively primitive golf balls, any score under one hundred was considered exceptional. William Howard Taft was not known as a golfer. He was also, to put it diplomatically, large. He knew how to golf, but spent most every day, all day, at his desk. This was one of the reasons his weight had hovered around three hundred pounds since he was governor of the Philippines. What those who bet against the president had forgotten was that he had been, at Yale, a wrestler and on the rowing team. He also enjoyed horseback riding.

  When the round of golf ended and his score was tallied, President Taft showed he was not a duffer—he’d scored ninety-eight! The President was so happy with that score, and with winning the highly publicized bet, that this was one of the few time on which the normally retiring man actually kissed his wife in public.

  POWER WALKERS

  Three of the presidents were serious walkers who would today fall into the power walking category. Benjamin Harrison would often walk for ten or more miles in a night. He frequently started his walks as late as 10 p.m. and normally walked alone. Tell a Secret Service man about that today and watch him shudder. Harrison would return to the White House in the middle of the night, but that was no problem, as the gates were typically left open.

  Chester A. Arthur also enjoyed hiking at night. Part of the motivation for the late hours for both men might have been
the stifling heat of a D.C. summer. Unlike Harrison, Arthur preferred company and normally had a friend or two accompany him. They often walked late into the night and returned in the early hours of the next day.

  The true power-walking president was (it figures) Teddy Roosevelt. He took to walking as he viewed everything: as a challenge and a conquest. Teddy not only walked long distances many days, but planned his walks to encounter a large number of obstacles. The twenty-sixth president often took his sons on the walk and liked to make sure each hike was a challenge for them. The ambassador to France once decided to accompany the president on one of these obstacle walks. It is likely he did not understand exactly what he was getting into or the nature of the course. He followed Theodore Roosevelt off at his normal rapid pace and when they came to a pond was informed of the rules of the march. You could go through or over something, but never around. Having said this, Teddy and the others promptly waded into and through the pond. Not to be outdone, the ambassador, who must have been stubborn or a very good sport, followed. All were wearing their shoes and pants, soaking them. The ambassador finished the “bully” hike a bit worse for wear and even wore his gloves to the end so that he would be properly attired should they meet a lady.