FIRST PETS, PART I
"Uncle Remus" fame. "All of the children are at present absorbed in various pets, perhaps the foremost of which is a puppy of the most unorthodox puppy type. Then there is Jack, the terrier, and Sailor Boy, the Chesapeake Bay dog; and Eli, the most gorgeous macaw, with a bill that I think could bite through boiler plate, who crawls all over Ted, and whom I view with dark supicion; and Jonathan, the piebald rat, of the most friendly and affectionate nature, who also crawls all over everybody; and the flying squirrel, and two kangaroo rats; not to speak of Archie's pony, Algonquin, who is the most absolute pet of them all."
Once, when Archie was sick and confined to his bed, his brothers tried to cheer him up by sneaking his favorite pet up to his second floor bedroom. In a masterful piece of planning, the children managed to sneak Archie's pony Algonquin up in the elevator and into Archie's bedroom without getting caught.
In addition to the pets already mentioned, the Teddy Roosevelt White House included Bleistein, Teddy's favorite horse; Renown, Roswell, Rusty, Jocko, Root, Grey, Dawn, Wyoming and Yangenka, all horses; carriage horses named General and Judge; a bull terrier named Pete; a mongrel named Skip; Manchu, Alice Roosevelt's spaniel; Alice's snake named Emily Spinach; cats named Tom Quart and Slippers; a badger named Josiah; guinea pigs named Dewey Senior, Dewey Junior, Bob Evans, Bishop Doan, and Father O'Grady. There were also a lion, hyena, wildcat, coyote, five bears, two parrots, a zebra, a barn owl, snakes, lizards, rats, roosters, and a raccoon.
William Howard Taft (1909-1913) kept a cow named Pauline Wayne. This was the last cow kept at the White House. After that, the White House purchased its milk.
During World War I, Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) kept a flock of sheep at the White House. They kept the grass short, and their wool was sold with the proceeds going to the American Red Cross. He also kept a tobacco-chewing ram named Old Ike.
Warren Harding (1921-1923) had one of the more famous First Pets. His Airedale, named Laddie Boy, was well known across the nation. When Harding died, a song was written, "He's Gone, Laddie Boy," in honor of his dog. In addition to Laddie Boy, Harding also had a bulldog named Old Boy. He also kept a pen of turkeys at the White House. His wife Florence had several canaries.
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