Collection The Presidents
Biographies & Portraits
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Airedale terrier Laddie Boy hosted the White House Easter Egg Roll in 1923 when President and Mrs. Warren G. Harding were away on a trip in Georgia.
Library of CongressIn a highly publicized campaign, Fala donated toys to promote scrap rubber collection for the war effort in 1942.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum/NARACharlie and Pushinka sit on the South Lawn in 1961. Pushinka was a gift to the Kennedy family from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev that year.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum/NARAPresident and Mrs. Gerald Ford and daughter Susan pet their golden retriever Liberty and her puppies. The Fords donated one of Liberty’s famous pups to a guide dog program for the blind as a means of publicizing this cause in 1975.
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum/NARAPresident Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher with sheep dog Lucky in the Rose Garden, 1985.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum/NARABarbara Bush proudly shows the puppies of Millie, an English springer spaniel, to King Hussein of Jordan, 1989.
George Bush Presidential Library and Museum/NARAAbout this Gallery
With the growth of pet keeping and the widespread marketing of animals and pet products in American society by the late nineteenth century, public interest in presidential animals and pets grew exponentially. Whether purchased or received as gifts from well-wishers or foreign officials, pets became minor celebrities and goodwill ambassadors used to promote causes or smooth diplomatic relations. With the rise of the mass media and the increasing international importance of the American presidency, White House pets often came into the spotlight.
Biographies & Portraits
Biographies & Portraits
Since 1878, American presidents and their families have celebrated Easter Monday by hosting an "egg roll" party. Held on the South...
Animals, whether pampered household pets, working livestock, birds, squirrels, or strays, have long been a major part of White House...
In 2022, the White House Historical Association began partnering with UNTOLD, a project of the Driving Force Institute for Public Engagement,...
Issue 69 • Spring 2023 The White House and New York Issue 70 • Summer 2023 Behind the Scenes at the White House Issue 71 • Fall 2023 The South...
White House history and American baseball history have been intertwined for more than a century, creating a rich legacy of...
Dr. William Seale, whose contributions to the programs and publications of the White House Historical Association for more than forty...
The White House Historical Association and presidential libraries, historic homes, and museums have a shared goal of providing access to...
Two of the youngest presidents to reside in the White House brought their families and a menagerie of pets along...
Animals -- whether pampered household pets, working livestock, birds, squirrels, or strays -- have long been a major part of...
Families taking up residence at the White House since the Theodore Roosevelt administration have encountered the public's insatiable appetite for...