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White House Pets in the Past

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  • Thomas Jefferson Observes a Magpie and a Prairie Dog

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    President Thomas Jefferson kept a magpie, one of four birds sent back from the Lewis and Clark expedition, as a pet. Watercolor by Louis S. Glanzman in 1970.

    White House Historical Association
  • "Reb" and "Billy Button" Carrying the President's Children to School

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    Reb and Billy Button take Ulysses S. Grant's children to school, 1869.

    White House Collection/White House Historical Association
  • Letter on the Gift of a Pet Cat to First Lady Lucy Hayes

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    David B. Sickels to Lucy Hayes, November 1, 1878, regarding the gift of a Siamese cat. "Siam" became the beloved pet of daughter Fanny Hayes.

    Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center

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  • President Taft's Cow, Pauline Wayne, on the Lawn of the State, War, and Navy Building

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    William H. Taft's Holstein, Pauline Wayne, "Queen of Capital Cows," in front of the Old Executive Office Building near the White House, ca. 1909.

    Library of Congress
  • Algonquin Visits Archie in Bed with the Measles

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    This drawing depicts the story of Quentin Roosevelt bringing their horse, Algonquin, into the White House to comfort his brother Archie who was sick with the measles.

    White House Historical Association
  • White House Sheep on the South Lawn

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    Sheep graze on the White House lawns in 1919 to save the manpower required to mow the expansive grounds. The wool was sold as a fundraiser for the Red Cross.

    Library of Congress
  • Mrs. Coolidge with Her Raccoon, Rebecca

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    First Lady Grace Coolidge holds her pet raccoon, Rebecca, which she took on walks with a leash.

    Library of Congress

About this Gallery

Pet keeping in America evolved from Native Americans' and European settlers' domesticating animals as hunters, guardians, workers, and companions. Horses, cows, goats, chickens, dogs, cats, songbirds, parrots, and other small animals were a part of daily life during the early years of the White House.

Since 1870, domestic pets at the White House have mirrored the species generally seen in American households. The major difference has always been that a pet belonging to a president generates great public interest and scrutiny.

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