Meet the presidential dogs who lived in the White House

Forty-six presidents have lived in the White House since the United States gained independence in 1776 — and at least 31 dogs have called 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue home.

In the book “All-American Dogs: A History of Presidential Pets from Every Era” (Harper Collins), out August 9, Andrew Hager — historian-in-residence at the Presidential Pet Museum in Williamsburg, Va. —  offers a master class on the White House’s most adorable residents: from George Washington’s three Staghounds to President Biden’s German Shepherds. 

Here are 10 photos of the world’s most powerful leaders, and their families, strolling, snuggling and even dancing with their patriotic pups.

Ronald Reagan and Lucky

It was First Lady Nancy Reagan’s press secretary Sheila Tate who convinced the 40th president, in office from 1981-1989, to get a dog. However, she wasn’t the one who gave the Reagan’s their pooch, a black Bouvier des Flandres called Lucky.

The dog was the gift of Kristen Ellis, a 6-year-old victim of spina bifida and March of Dimes poster child. Mrs. Reagan named the new pooch in honor of her mother, Edith Luckett “Lucky” Davis.

Though Lucky grew to weigh a whopping 70 pounds, she still considered herself a lap dog, often hopping on the Republican president’s legs during rides aboard Marine One. In fact, after only a few trips on board, she started to associate the presidential helicopter with trips to Camp David, her favorite place. Every time the pup saw the chopper, she ran towards it with excitement.

Calvin Coolidge and Rob Roy

According to Hager, Republican president Calvin Coolidge, who was in the White House from 1923 until 1929, had more pets during his tenure than any other American president — including Peter Pan, a white Wire fox Terrier, who moved into the White House with Coolidge; Paul Pry, the First Lady’s’ Airedale Terrier who once bit a White House maid who got to close to her; and Tiny Tim and Blackberry, two badly behaved Chow Chows who howled nonstop. Blackberry annoyed the First Family so much that, after only a few years, they gave her to Coolidge’s daughter-in-law.

But white Collie Rob Roy was said to be a favorite and loyal companion to First Lady Grace Coolidge. In his autobiography, Coolidge described the pooch as “a stately gentleman of great courage and fidelity.”

Rob Roy is also the only dog to be featured in a White House portrait: a painting of Grace and the pooch, created by Howard Chandler Christy, before a State dinner in 1924. It currently hangs in the China Room.

John F. Kennedy and Clipper

Though John F. Kennedy, the Democratic president from 1961 until 1963, was severely allergic to animals, he had several pets — including Clipper, the German Shepherd gifted to First Lady Jackie Kennedy by the president’s father, Joseph. Hager notes that, despite JFK’s allergies, he wanted his children to grow up with pets. (Among their menagerie was daughter Caroline Kennedy’s pony Macaroni.)

Jackie reportedly took Clipper for walks daily around the White House grounds — though she was often in her classic disguise of large sunglasses with a silk scarf covering her hair.

Kennedy had a favorite, too: His Welsh Terrier Charlie, who swam laps with the president in the White House pool. JFK even requested that Charlie be waiting for Marine One when he landed from trips out of town.

Herbert Hoover and King Tut

Herbert Hoover’s Belgian Shepherd, King Tut, was extra special: He helped the Republican win the presidential election by melting voters’ hearts. When Hoover was running for office in 1928, he was perceived by the public as stiff and cold. So his campaign managers suggested a photo with his beloved dog, who had been a part of the candidate’s family since 1922.

The Hoover campaign widely circulated the photo, getting it into every publication they could, including The New York Times, which captioned the image, “one of the happiest pictures ever made.”

According to Hager, King Tut would fetch the daily newspaper while his master was in the White House from 1929 until 1933. After Hoover had finished reading a section, King Tut would use the paper as a pillow. 

Unfortunately, the White House proved too stressful for such a vigilant breed and the anxiety of constant visitors led King Tut to stop eating and sleeping. Out of concern for his beloved pet, Hoover sent the canine to live in the family’s previous home, which was being rented by a friend. King Tut died only a few weeks later, in October 1929.

Richard Nixon and King Tamahoe

While Richard Nixon served as president from 1969 to 1974, the Republican and his family enjoyed the company of three dogs: a poodle, a Yorkshire terrier and an Irish setter named King Timahoe.

Though King Timahoe was one of the Nixon family’s most beloved pets, the most famous was Checkers. In 1952, then-Senator Nixon found himself in the middle of a scandal from which the Cocker Spaniel helped save him.

Supporters had started a fund to help the senator in his political career, but Nixon was accused of taking several thousands of dollars for himself.

With Nixon fearful he’d be de-seated in Congress, the Republican National Committee arranged for him to have 30 minutes of TV airtime to speak directly to Americans — and Checker became the start of the speech.

“One other thing I probably should tell you because if we don’t, they’ll probably be saying this about me too, we did get something — a gift — after the election. A man down in Texas heard Pat on the radio mention the fact that our two youngsters would like to have a dog,” Nixon said.

“And believe it or not, the day before we left on this campaign trip we got a message from Union Station in Baltimore saying they had a package for us. We went down to get it. You know what it was? It was a little Cocker Spaniel dog in a crate that he’d sent all the way from Texas. Black and white spotted. And our little girl — Tricia, the 6-year-old — named it Checkers. And you know, the kids, like all kids, love the dog and I just want to say this right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we’re gonna keep it.”

Afterward, Nixon supporters rang the RNC to share their love of the senator. According to Hager, they were 75 to 1 in favor of Nixon to stay on the Republican ticket for vice president.

Joe Biden and Major

Bo Obama wasn’t the only new pup roaming the halls of the White House in 2009. Champ Biden, a German Shepherd, was also a newcomer shortly after Joe Biden assumed the vice presidency. Sadly, Champ passed away in July 2021 at age 13. 

Three days before Biden’s 2021 inauguration, the Delaware Humane Society hosted a virtual fundraising event — dubbed the “indoguration” — for the new president’s adoption of a German shepherd, Major. The animal rescue’s goal was to raise $10,000, but after Josh Groban performed a song and Today correspondent Jill Martin emceed, more than $200,000 was raised, and Major was set to head to his new home on Pennsylvania Avenue.

But things didn’t go as planned, as Major became known for jumping and charging at staff and security — and was involved in two biting incidents.

After undergoing more extensive training, Major is now living with a family friend in a quieter and less stressful environment than 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The Bidens also added a new German Shepherd, Commander, to their brood.

Rutherford B. Hayes and Duke

The Hayes family had several dogs, but their most famous was Duke, who Hager suspects was an English mastiff.

Hayes had an odd presidency — the Republican vowed to serve only one term, from 1877-1881, and his wife refused to serve alcohol in the White House — but he was an outspoken animal rights activist through and through.

During his 1878 address to Congress, which is now called the State of the Union Address, Hayes said, “The abuse of animals in transit is widely attracting public attention. [I urge Congress to consider] the enactment of more efficient laws for the prevention of these abuses,” a radical statement in the mid-19th century.

Bill Clinton and Buddy

In 1991, two years before the Clintons moved into the White House, Democratic president Bill Clinton had a black and white cat named Socks. During Clinton’s first term, Socks became a famous fixture at the White House — especially during press conferences when reporters would lure him with catnip. 

However, when the Clintons’ daughter Chelsea left for college in 1997, First Lady Hillary decided to bring home a chocolate Lab, Buddy. “President Clinton later joked that he’d had an easier time running negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians than he’d had trying to make peace between his two animals,” Hager writes.

Hillary later wrote a children’s book about her popular pets, “Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids’ Letters to the First Pets,” that included dozens of letters penned by children to the presidential pets. Proceeds were donated to the National Park Foundation.

George W. Bush and Miss Beazley and Barney

After George W. Bush’s 2001 to 2009 presidency was mired by the tragedy of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, the American people turned to one of his Scottish Terriers, Barney, as a source of levity and sweetness.

Back in the early 2000s, when Barney was the First Dog, he starred in annual videos that the White House posted on the Internet around the winter holidays, where millions of people watched Barney being cute on the White House lawn.

Nevertheless, not everyone fell for Barney’s charms. Jenna Bush Hager, George W. Bush’s daughter, said on the “Today” show that “Barney was a real jerk … He was a little temperamental. I feel bad saying that, but he didn’t like strangers.” He even bit a reporter and family friend, she added.

The Bushes adopted another Scottish terrier, Miss Beazley, whose father was Barney’s half-brother, as a birthday gift from the president to First Lady Laura Bush, in 2005.

That year, Miss Beazley and Barney were the stars of the White House holiday video, “A Very Beazley Christmas.”

Barack Obama and Bo

During Democratic president Barack Obama’s 2008 victory speech, he spoke directly to his young daughters about a very personal campaign promise: “I love you both more than you can imagine. You have earned the puppy that is coming with us!”

That puppy was Bo, a Portuguese Water Dog who was a gift from Sen. Ted Kennedy.

On a deeper level, Hager said, “The gift of Bo thus connected President Obama to the optimistic Kennedy era of the early 1960s, a torch passed to a new generation.”

Though Bo technically belonged to the Obama daughters, he was beloved by all members of the presidential family. First Lady Michelle Obama even brought the canine with her for a reading of “Twas the Night Before Christmas” at Children’s National Medical Center near the White House in 2011.

Sadly, Bo died at the age of 12 in 2011, but two years later, Michelle Obama announced the homecoming of a new furry family member, Portuguese Water Dog Sunny, in a 2013 tweet.