Every February, Americans take pause on the third Monday of the month to honor and remember our presidents on President’s Day, also known as Washington’s Birthday.
This President’s Day, we are looking through history and honoring not only the past and present leaders of our nation, but their four-legged companions as well.
Dogs have been in the alongside presidents for many years. Read on to learn more about these presidential pups:
President George Washington (1789-1797)
Sweetlips, Scentwell and Vulcan – American Staghounds
Drunkard, Taster, Tipler and Tipsy – Black and Tan Coonhounds
Cornwallis – Greyhound
President John Adams (1797-1801)
Juno, Mark and Satan – Mixed breeds
President Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)
Bergére and Grizzle – Shepherd Dogs from France
President James Monroe (1817-1825)
Buddy – Spaniel
Sebastian – Siberian Husky
President John Tyler (1841-1845)
Le Beau – Italian Greyhound
President Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)
Japanese Spaniel
President James Buchanan (1857-1861)
Lara – Newfoundland
Punch – Toy Terrier
President Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)
Fido – Mixed breed
President Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)
Faithful – Newfoundland
Rosie – Mixed breed
President Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)
Dot – Cocker Spaniel
Hector – Newfoundland
Duke – English Mastiff
Grim – Greyhound
Otis – Miniature Schnauzer
Juno and Shep – Hunting dogs
Jet – Unknown breed
Rutherford B. Hayes and Dot (Photo courtesy of PresidentialPetMuseum.com)
President James A. Garfield (1881)
Veto – Newfoundland
President Grover Cleveland (1885-1889 and 1893-1897)
Hector – Japanese Poodle
Dachshunds, Foxhounds, Collie, Cocker Spaniel and Saint Bernard
President Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)
Dash – Collie
President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)
Pete – Bull Terrier
Skip – Rat Terrier
Jack and Peter – Terriers
Blackjack – Manchester Terrier
Manchu – Pekingese
Rollo – Saint Bernard
Sailor Boy – Chesapeake Bay Retriever
Gem and Susan – Unknown breeds
President William Howard Taft (1909-1913)
Caruso – Unknown breed
President Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
Davie – Airedale Terrier
Bruce – Bull Terrier
Mountain Boy – Greyhound
President Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)
Laddie Boy – Airedale Terrier
Old Boy – Bulldog
President Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
Rob Roy, Prudence Prim, Ruby Rouch, Bessie – Collies
Peter Pan – Terrier
Paul Pry – Airedale Terrier
Calamity Jane – Shetland Sheepdog
Tiny Tim and Blackberry – Chow Chows
Boston Beans – Bulldog
King Cole – German Shepherd
Palo Alto – Bird Dog
President Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)
King Tut – Belgian Malinois
Pat – German Shepherd
Big Ben and Sonny – Fox Terriers
Glen – Scotch Collie
Yukonan – Eskimo Dog
Patrick – Irish Wolfhound
Eaglehurst Gillette – Setter
Weegie – Norwegian Elkhound
President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)
Fala, Meggie – Scottish Terriers
Major – German Shepherd
Winks – Llewellyn Setter
Tiny – Old English Sheepdog
President – Great Dane
Blaze – Mastiff
President Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)
Feller – Cocker Spaniel
Mike – Irish Setter
President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961)
Heidi – Weimaraner
President John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)
Charlie – Welsh Terrier
Gaullie – French Poodle
Pushinka, Butterfly, White Tips, Blackie, Streaker – Mixed breeds
Wolf – Irish Wolfhound
Shannon – Irish Cocker Spaniel
Clipper – German Shepherd
President Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)
Him and Her, Edgar, Freckles – Beagles
Blanco – Collie
Yuki – Mixed breed
President Richard Nixon (1969-1974)
Vicki – Poodle
Pasha – Terrier
King Timahoe – Irish Setter
Checkers – Cocker Spaniel
Richard Nixon and Checkers (Photo courtesy of PresidentialPetMuseum.com)
President Gerald Ford (1974-1977)
Liberty, Misty – Golden Retrievers
Lucky – Mixed breed
President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)
Grits – Border Collie
Lewis Brown – Afgan Hound
President Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
Lucky – Bouvier des Flandres
Rex – Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Victory – Golden Retriever
Peggy – Irish Setter
Taca – Siberian Husky
Fuzzy – Belgian Sheepdog
President George H.W. Bush (1989-1993)
Millie, Ranger – Springer Spaniels
Sully – Yellow Labrador Retriever (Sully was former President Bush’s service dog for six months until Bush’s passing on Nov. 30, 2018)
President Bill Clinton (1993-2001)
Buddy – Chocolate Labrador Retriever
President George W. Bush (2001-2009)
Spotty Fetcher – Springer Spaniel
Barney, Miss Beazley – Scottish Terriers
President Barack Obama (2009-2017)
Bo and Sunny – Portuguese Water Dogs
President Donald Trump (2017-Present)
No pups … yet :)
What a list! It could be said that the Newfoundland breed was popular among presidents; Teddy Roosevelt loved his terriers; and there are some very unique names. But one thing is clear: Many of our U.S. Presidents were dog lovers, just like us!
Sources: Dogtime.com ; Wikipedia ; PresidentialPetMuseum.com