February 20th, 2023
Unique Presidential Pets
Presidents’ Day is now a day to honor all of our Presidents. It was originally established nationally in 1885 to celebrate President George Washington ’s Birthday on February 22nd. However, in 1971, as part of Uniform Monday Holiday Act, it became known as Presidents’ Day. We now celebrate all of our presidents every year on the third Monday in February. This year it falls on Monday, February 20.
In honor of Presidents’ Day this year, I thought it would be fun to share some of the unusual presidential pets in the White House. Many of the presidents had pets, but there were more than just dogs and cats.
- President John Quincy Adams had an alligator;
- President Woodrow Wilson had a flock of sheep and a ram;
- President John F. Kennedy’s daughter had a pony named Macaroni;
- President William Taft had the last cow to live at the White House;
- President Martin Van Buren had a pair of tiger cubs until Congress made him send them to the zoo;
- President Warren Harding had a squirrel named Pete;
- President Calvin Coolidge’s wife, First Lady Grace Coolidge, had a raccoon named Rebecca;
- President Herbert Hoover had a opossum and his son had alligators; and
- President Theodore Roosevelt was famous for his many pets. His kids had snakes, dogs, cats, a badger, birds, guinea pigs, and more.
Happy Presidents’ Day!
;)
