“Man’s Best Friend” Includes Dogs in Politics
We’ve all heard the phrase that dogs are “man’s best friend”, and that even applies to our country’s leaders. Dogs have made an appearance in politics since we became a country. Some are more famous than others thanks to the development of photography and social media. For me it’s fun to think of the highest position in our country as a pet-owner like so many of the rest of us!
September 23 has been deemed Dogs In Politics Day, but is more commonly known as “Checkers Day”. It celebrates dogs that have made a name for themselves in the political realm; whether on the campaign trail, in the White House, or as a presidential gift. It would be overwhelming to try and find out the dogs all politicians may have had, so this post will focus on the biggest political office one can hold: President of the United States.
Which Presidents Had Dogs?
OK, we admit that not every president was a dog person. Some didn’t have dogs at all, but a lot of the presidents had multiple dogs or even types of pets. Some of their pets were gifts from constituents or even other countries. Wikipedia has a full list of all the pets, if you’re interested, but since this is a dog blog we just grabbed dogs ?. Who wins the award for the most dogs in their political office?
| President | Dogs’ Name(s) |
|---|---|
| George Washington | Sweetlips, Scentwell, Vulcan (American Foxhounds) Drunkard, Taster, Tipler, Tipsey (Black/Tan Coonhounds) Cornwallis (Greyhound) |
| | |
| John Adams | Juno, Mark Satan |
| Thomas Jefferson | Bergere and Grizzle (possible Briards) |
| James Monroe | Spaniel |
| John Tyler | Le Beau (Italian Greyhound) |
| Franklin Pierce | At least 2 miniature “teacup” Japanese Chin dogs |
| James Buchanan | Lara (Newfoundland) Punch (Toy Terrier) |
| Abraham Lincoln | Fido and Jip (both just listed as “dogs”) – Fido became the generic name for a dog after this. |
| Ulysses S. Grant | Faithful (Newfoundland) Rosie (dog) |
| Rutherford B. Hayes | Dot (Cocker Spaniel) Hector (Newfoundland) Duke (English Mastiff) Grim (Greyhound) Otis (Miniature Schnauzer) Juno and Shep (Hunting dogs) Jet (dog) |
| James A Garfield | Veto (dog) |
| Grover Cleveland | Hector (German Poodle) Three Dachshunds |
| Benjamin Harrison | Dash (Collie) |
| Theodor Roosevelt | Blackjack (Manchester Terrier) Gem and Susan (dogs) Jack and Peter (Terriers) Pete (Bull Terrier) Rollo (Saint Bernard) Skip (Mutt) Sailor Boy (Chesapeake Bay Retriever) |
| William Howard Taft | Caruso (dog) |
| Woodrow Wilson | Davie (Airedale Terrier) Bruce (Bull Terrier) |
| Warren G. Harding | Laddie Boy (Airedale Terrier) Old Boy (Bulldog) |
| Calvin Coolidge | Rob Roy, Prudence Prim (White Collies) Peter Pan (Wirehair Fox Terrier) Paul Pry (Airedale Terrier) Calamity Jane (Shetland Sheepdog) Tiny Tim and Blackberry (Chow Chows) Ruby Rouch (Collie) Boston Beans (Boston Bulldog) King Cole (Belgian Sheepdog) Palo Alto (English Setter) Bessie (Collie) |
| Herbert Hoover | King Tut (Belgian Malinois) Pat (German Shepherd) Big Ben and Sonnie (Fox Terriers) Glen (Scotch Collie) Yukonan (Canadian Eskimo Dog) Patrick (Irish Wolfhound) Eaglehurst Gillette (Setter) Weegie (Norwegian Elkhound) |
| Franklin D. Roosevelt | Fala (Scottish Terrier) Major (German Shepherd) Meggie (Scottish Terrier) Winks (Llewellyn Setter) Tiny (Old English Sheepdog) President (Great Dane) Blaze (Bullmastiff) |
| Harry S. Truman | Feller (Cocker Spaniel) Mike (Irish Setter) |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower | Heidi (Weimaraner) |
| John F. Kennedy | Gaullie (Poodle) Charlie (Welsh Terrier) Moe (Doberman Pinscher) Pushinka (dog) Shannon (Cocker Spaniel) Wolf (Irish Wolfhound/Schnauzer mix) Clipper (German Shepherd) Butterfly, White Tips, Blackie, and Streaker (puppies of Pushinka and Charlie) |
| Lyndon B. Johnson | Him and Her (Beagles) Edgar (Beagle) Blanco (White Collie) Freckles (Beagle) Yuki (Mix) |
| Richard Nixon | Vicki (Poodle) Pasha (Terrier) King Timahoe (Irish Setter) Checkers (Cocker Spaniel) |
| Gerald Ford | Liberty (Golden Retriever) Luck (dog) Misty (Golden Retriever, Liberty’s puppy) |
| Jimmy Carter | Grits (Border Collie Mix) Lewis Brown (Afghan hound) |
| Ronald Reagan | Lucky (Bouvier des Flandres) Rex (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) Victory (Golden Retriever) Peggy (Irish Setter) Taca (Siberian Husky) Fuzzy (Belgian Sheepdog) |
| George W. Bush | Millie (Springer Spaniel) Ranger (Springer Spaniel, one of Millie’s puppies) |
| Bill Clinton | Buddy (Chocolate Labrador Retriever) |
| George W. Bush | Spot “Spotty” Fetcher (English Springer Spaniel) Barney (Scottish Terrier) Miss Beazley (Scottish Terrier) |
| Barack Obama | Bo and Sunny (Portuguese Water Dogs) |
| Joe Biden | Champ and Major (German Shepherd Dogs) |
Do Dogs in Politics Make Presidents More Relatable?
As you can see, there were a few breeds that several presidents liked, and there were a few surprises tucked away in there. How about you? Do you own any of the same breeds as one of the presidents? I have a spaniel mix, so I feel like those presidents that had a spaniel breed are more relatable to me.
You may not agree with their political party, and you don’t have to. But if a president has the same breed dog as you, it can seem like they are “real” people instead of political “higher ups”. Just think, at some point they had to go through the same puppy struggles you did as an owner: housebreaking, chewing, jumping, and adjusting to new homes and surroundings. If you look at some of their profiles, you’ll find some of the pups didn’t adjust too well and had to go back to their “civilian” homes (hint, Joe Biden’s GSD wasn’t the first one!).
How do you feel about dogs in politics in general?
