Pets Are Returning to the White House After Four Years

Pets have always been a tradition in the White House for presidents and their families. The most popular ones are dogs, but other pets have also been welcomed inside the White House and on the grounds.

However, President Donald J. Trump was the first president not to have a pet of any kind in the White House in more than 100 years, according to Andrew Hager, the historian-in-residence at the Presidential Pet Museum.

That is changing on Wednesday, January 20, 2021 when Joe Biden, the new President of the United States and First Lady Jill Biden move into the White House with their two German shepherds, Champ and Major Biden.

Biden's Top Dogs

In 2008, the Bidens got a German shepherd puppy from a breeder after Mr. Biden was elected vice president. They named the dog Champ because when Biden was growing up, his father told him when his life was challenging, “Get up, Champ.”

When Biden was Vice President, he used to hand out Champ soft toys to kids he met as part of his official tours.

Ten years later in March 2018, the Biden family adopted Major from the Delaware Humane Association. He became the first shelter dog to be a resident in the White House. Dr. Jill Biden said she loves cats and is thinking about getting one to be a companion for the family and their two dogs after they move to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.

Previous Pets In the White House

Donald Trump and James K. Polk are the only presidents not to have a presidential pet while in office. However, there were plenty of pets in the White House throughout the years.

Jennifer B. Pickens, the author of “Pets at the White House," shared a list of presidents who had pets in the White House. President Theodore Roosevelt owned guinea pigs, horses, kangaroo rats, and a one-legged rooster.

President Calvin Coolidge had a raccoon named Rebecca. President Herbert Hoover had a German shepherd named King Tut. President Theodore Roosevelt had a terrier named Skip. Warren G. Harding had Laddie Boy. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had a beloved terrier named Fala. President George H.W. Bush’s owned Millie, an English springer spaniel. His son, President George W Bush had three dogs and a cat named India.

When he became President of the United States in 2008, Barack Obama told his daughters: “You have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House.” Several months later, Bo joined the family, a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy. A few years later, a female Portuguese water dog named Sunny became a companion to Bo and the Obama family.

First kids loved pets. Amy Carter had a Siamese cat, Misty Malarky Ying Yang, and Caroline Kennedy had a pony named Macaroni along with dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, and a rabbit named Zsa Zsa. Chelsea Clinton had a cat named Socks and a chocolate Labrador named Buddy.

Why Trump Never Had a Pet in the White House

In 2016, Lois Pope, a philanthropist for veterans and animals offered Mr. Trump a Goldendoodle puppy named Patton, after George Patton, the World War II general. However, the president did not accept the gift.

Trump explained at a February 2019 rally in El Paso that he didn’t have a dog because he didn’t have time for one. Besides, he felt it would be phony for him to get one for political reasons. He concluded, "How would I look walking a dog on the White House lawn?”

Even though Trump did not have pets in the White House, Mike Pence and his family had a cat, two puppies, and a rabbit during their four-year stay at the three-story brick house at the Naval Observatory located near the White House.

Why Pets Are Good Additions to the White House

Pets offer comfort and are great companions for presidents and their family especially during tough times. They help humanize them and make for cuddly props in the White House and on the grounds. People tend to relate more positively to people who own pets.

According to Jennifer Pickens, an author who studies White House traditions, “Pets have always played an important role in the White House throughout the decades. It not only provides companionship to the president and their family, but it also humanizes and softens their political image.”

Tom Whalen, a presidential historian at Boston University, says, “When a president, the leader of the country, the leader of the free world really, is seen with a dog or a cat, you know, basically there is a bond that they have with their public, whether they’re Republican or Democrat.”