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Barbara Kinney, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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How Much Do You Know About the Presidents’ Pets?
Adorable. Pesky. Just plain weird. Many different animals have called the White House home. Test your knowledge with this quiz.
PAUL MORSE/AFP via Getty Images
Which presidential pooch is a best-selling author?
A. Laddie Boy, Warren G. Harding’s terrier
B. Bo, Barack Obama’s Portuguese water dog
C. Millie, George H. W. Bush’s English springer spaniel
Many books have been published about the presidents’ pets. But only Millie has been the author of a best-selling book! Millie’s Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush is the story of life in the White House told from the dog’s point of view.
President Andrew Johnson did not have any pets, but he did become friendly with some White House pests during his time in office. He was known to leave food out for _____.
A. the kitchen’s cockroaches
B. a family of white mice
C. a flock of garden birds
Johnson was president from 1865 to 1869. When he found a family of white mice living in his White House bedroom, he didn’t set traps. Instead, he left out a little basket of flour and some water for them every night.
What is happening in this photo, taken in the Oval Office?
Getty Images
A. A stray cat is interrupting a morning press conference.
B. Bill Clinton’s cat, Socks, is posing for a photo.
C. One of George W. Bush’s daughters let a cat into the Oval Office as an April Fools’ joke.
Socks lived with the Clintons at the White House from 1993 to 2001. He was a favorite of press photographers, who reportedly used catnip to try to get him closer to their cameras. When Socks had a moment away from the spotlight, one of his favorite places to nap was in the Oval Office.
Which of the following is NOT an actual pairing of a president and an animal he received as a gift during his time in office?
A. Ronald Reagan and a baby elephant
B. Martin Van Buren and a pair of tiger cubs
C. Theodore Roosevelt and an adult grizzly bear
Many presidents have received interesting—and sometimes exotic—animals as gifts. But the White House is no place to raise tigers and elephants. Often, the president donates large or dangerous animals to zoos.
You may know that the president is called the commander-in-chief. But which presidential pet was called the “provider-in-chief” by The Washington Post newspaper?
A. Pauline, the cow that made butter and milk for President William Howard Taft
B. Old Whiskers, the goat that would pull President Benjamin Harrison’s grandchildren around in a cart
C. Billy Button, one of the ponies that took President Ulysses S. Grant’s children to school
The 27th president’s prized cow, Pauline Wayne, produced a whopping 8 gallons of milk per day. White House guests could buy small bottles of her leftover milk. (Fun fact: Old Whiskers and Billy Button actually did live at the White House too!)