Coolidge had the usual “normal” pets. He had a dog named Paul Pry and a cat named Tiger. One day, when Tiger could not be found, Coolidge asked the local radio stations to announce a “missing cat” bulletin. Tiger was found, but later ran away again, and was never found.
Paul Pry was an Airedale originally named Laddie Buck. He also had a terrier named Peter Pan and a white collie named Rob Roy. Rob Roy, originally named Oshkosh, appeared in the famous official portrait of First Lady Grace Coolidge, which is still in the White House today. Their other white collie was called Prudence Prim, and their Shetland sheepdog was named Calamity Jane. They had a couple of chows named Tiny Tim and Blackberry, a brown collie named Ruby Rough, a police dog named King Kole, a yellow collie named Bassie and a bird dog named Palo Alto. In addition to the dogs, they also had a variety of birds which included, among others, canaries named Nip and Tuck, a white canary named Snowflake, a thrush named Old Bill, a goose named Enoch and mockingbirds belonging to the First Lady. The Coolidge family also had cats in the White House. Tiger, mentioned above, was an alley cat. Another cat was named Blacky.
But the other animals kept at the Coolidge White House were indeed unique. Coolidge kept two raccoons named Rebecca and Horace. Rebecca used to ride around on Coolidge’s shoulders. He also had a donkey named Ebenezer, and bobcat named Smokey, lion cubs, a wallaby, a bear, and a pigmy hippo. There has never been such an amazing and unique collection of animals in the White House, before or since.
Herbert Hoover loved dogs. His favorite was a police dog named King Tut. His other dogs included fox terriers named Big Ben and Sonnie, a Scotch collie named Glen, an Eskimo dog named Yukon, a wolfhound named Patrick, a sitter named Eaglehurst Gillette, an elkhound named Weejie, and another police dog named Pat.
Franklin Roosevelt was also a great dog lover. He had a number of dogs including a German shepherd named Major, a Scotch terrier named Meggie, a Llewellyn setter named Winks, an English sheepdog named Tiny, a Great Dane named (appropriately) President, and his son Elliot’s mastiff named Blaze.
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