List of Presidents who owned dogs whilst in office

Dogs owned by US presidents during their tenure in office.

A dog is a man’s best friend, and it seems that it is also a president’s best friend.

The following is a list of presidents who owned dogs while in office (and an alligator!). Most of the dogs lived in the White House.

  • George Washington owned several dogs, including dogs of the American Foxhound, Black and Tan Coonhound, and Greyhound breeds.
  • John Quincy Adams owned an alligator, which he kept in a bathroom in the White House.
  • Andrew Jackson owned several dogs, including a Mastiff and a Greyhound.
  • Abraham Lincoln owned several dogs, including a Greyhound and a mixed breed named Fido.
  • Grover Cleveland had two dogs during his presidency, both of whom were named Hector. The first Hector was a French poodle, and the second Hector was a wire fox terrier.

    President Cleveland with dog
    Grover Cleveland, his son, and dog posed on the driveway, with a house in the background, Princeton, N.J
  • Theodore Roosevelt owned several dogs, including a Chesapeake Bay Retriever named Sailor Boy. His most famous dog was a terrier named Skip, but he also had a bulldog named Pete and a Saint Bernard named Rollo.

    Theodore Roosevelt
    Theodore Roosevelt standing with two dogs next to haystack
  • Warren G. Harding’s dog was an Airedale Terrier named Laddie Boy.

    harding with laddie
    President Harding, with pet dog Laddie, being photographed in front of the White House
  • The name of Coolidge’s dog was a white collie named “Rob Roy.”
    Coolidge and dog
    President Coolidge and Mrs. Coolidge with dog outside White House.

     

  • Herbert Hoover had several dogs during his presidency, but his most famous dog was a Belgian shepherd named King Tut.
    Piney the Schnauzer
    Piney the Schnauzer Pup perched on the famous medicin[e] ball used by the President each morning on the White House lawn
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt owned several dogs, including a Scottish Terrier named Fala and a Great Dane named Meggie.

    statue of FDR with dog
    One of FDR’s many dogs he owned.
  • Harry S. Truman owned a Cocker Spaniel named Feller.
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower owned a Weimaraner named Heidi.
  • John F. Kennedy owned a Welsh Terrier named Charlie and a Poodle named Pushinka. Clipper  and Wolf 

    Kennedy Dogs
    Photograph of Kennedy Family with Dogs During a Weekend at Hyannisport, The dogs are Clipper, Charlie , Wolf
  • Lyndon B. Johnson owned several dogs, including a Beagle named Him and a Mutt named Yuki.
  • Richard Nixon owned a Cocker Spaniel named Checkers.

    Nixon Dog
    Richard Nixon’s most famous dog was a Cocker Spaniel named Checkers. However, during his presidency, he also had other dogs named Vicky, Pasha, and King Timahoe.
  • Gerald Ford owned a Golden Retriever named Liberty.
  • Jimmy Carter owned a Border Collie named Grits.
  • Ronald Reagan owned a Bouvier des Flandres named Lucky and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Rex.
  • George H. W. Bush owned a Springer Spaniel named Millie and a Scottish Terrier named Ranger.
  • Bill Clinton owned a Labrador Retriever named Buddy and a Chocolate Labrador Retriever named Socks.
  • George W. Bush owned a Scottish Terrier named Barney and an English Springer Spaniel named Miss Beazley.
  • Barack Obama owned two Portuguese Water Dogs named Bo and Sunny.