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 Nearly every U.S. president
has had pets -- and not all of them were dogs and cats.
Here you see President Obama
and his daughters with their new dog, Bo. The Obamas had promised
their daughters, Malia and Sasha, that they would get a dog after
the election was over. The public waited for months as the Obamas
looked for a breed that wouldn't aggravate Malia's allergies.
Now, Bo joins a very long line of presidential pets.
Nearly every U.S. president
has had pets, starting with George Washington, who reportedly
owned a parrot named Polly and 36 hounds. Some of the White House
animals were rather unusual. For instance, the nation's sixth
president, John Quincy Adams, kept an alligator in the White
House for six months. Can you imagine an alligator in the
White House today? The eighth president, Martin Van Buren,
briefly had a pair of tiger cubs given to him by the Sultan of
Oman -- but Congress made him send them to a zoo.
At right, you see the family
of Benjamin Harrison, president from 1893 to 1899. Harrison's
family had dogs, but also a goat named Old Whiskers, which they
apparently put to work. At left you see Grace Coolidge, wife
of President Calvin Coolidge, who held office from 1923 to 1929.
President Coolidge reportedly once said, "Any man who does
not like dogs... does not deserve to be in the White House."
Do you agree? The Coolidges had several dogs and cats,
but also some more unusual choices, including this raccoon named
Rebecca.
 
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