Which US President Kept the Most Pets at the White House?

Americans have long been fascinated by the personal lives of our nation’s presidents and their families. Though rarely overlapping with serious diplomatic or policy responsibilities, their unique interests serve an important role in helping the public get to know their elected leaders. For example, presidential pets have been a constant source of interest ever since Thomas Jefferson brought pet birds to the White House, most notably his beloved companion, Dick the Mockingbird.

Although Jefferson also owned dogs, sheep, and horses (and briefly two grizzly cubs gifted by Capt. Zebulon Pike), no U.S. president has come close to equaling the veritable menagerie kept by Theodore Roosevelt, who was in office from 1901 to 1909. Theodore and Edith Roosevelt and their six children had around 40 animals, some housed at the White House and others at Sagamore Hill, the family’s Long Island retreat. In addition to many dogs and ponies, there were cats, guinea pigs, a macaw, a black bear, a garter snake, a rat, a lizard, a badger, a pig, a rabbit, a hyena, a barn owl, a one-legged rooster, and almost certainly others.

Alice Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt’s eldest child and his only daughter from his first marriage, was the owner of the garter snake, which she named Emily Spinach because "it was as green as spinach and as thin as my Aunt Emily."

The black bear, originally from West Virginia, was named Jonathan Edwards after the 19th-century religious leader, who was also Edith Roosevelt’s great-great-great grandfather. As was the case with many of the more exotic presidential pets, he was ultimately sent to live at a zoo (in this case, the Bronx Zoo.)

Said to be Roosevelt’s favourite dog, Pete was either a bull terrier, Boston bull terrier, or a bull dog. He earned a measure of notoriety for his habit of chasing and biting people on the White House grounds, including numerous policemen, the Secretary of the Interior, the French ambassador, and various State Department and Cabinet officials. After several attempts to exile him from the White House, he was finally relocated to Sagamore Hill in 1908.

Algonquin the pony was especially beloved by the Roosevelt children. He was once brought up to Archie Roosevelt’s room in the White House elevator during a bout of childhood illness in an attempt to cheer the boy up. The pony was reportedly entranced by his reflection in the elevator mirror.

Learn more about presidential pets: