Let's Take A Closer Look

The 2024 Presidential Dog Challenge

Instead of adding to the miles-high piles of articles about the election, yet still wanting to keep things presidential, I started out to write an article about dogs the United States presidents have owned. This weekend, I was doing my usual background research, reading many dozens of things written, catalogued, and described by other writers in many different publications. Regular readers know the fun of learning interesting and sometimes amusing little things that they never knew before, and so do I. As long as I keep learning new things about a subject, I keep digging for the quirky little bits overlooked by most articles you can read for yourself if you vary your search terms and use several different browsers. 

Later, while organizing my notes, I decided to turn it into a quiz so readers could have as much fun as I did in a fraction of the time, all here at LetsTakeACloserLook.com. Please note these questions are not ranked in any way. No chronology, no alphabetizing, no prioritizing. The sequence is not random, either, though, because I deliberately split some apart and clustered others together.

Whatever your score, please forward this quiz to friends and colleagues and see who knows most about presidential pets. Or if you want to post on one of your social feeds, here’s the link.

50 states, 50 questions

1. How many presidents owned dogs?
2. Which president had the most dogs?
3. Who is the first president that did not own a dog? 
4. Who was the last president that did not own a dog?
5. Which president enjoyed sitting around the Oval Office howling along with his dog when he had important visitors?
6. Which president wrote, “I participate in all your hostility to dogs and would readily join in any plan for exterminating the whole race?”
7. Which president named four of his dogs Drunkard, Tasty, Tippler, and Tipsy?
8. Which president named one of his dogs Satan?
9. Which president had a dog named Pushinka?
10. How many presidents owned mutts/mongrels/mixed breeds?
11. Only one president ever adopted a dog from a rescue shelter. Who was that president? 
12. What word does the American Kennel Club use to refer to a female poodle? (this got the highest score in the pretest).
13. What is the word the American Kennel Club uses to refer to a male poodle?
14. Which breed was owned by more presidents than any other?
15. Three presidents owned poodles. Name one. If you name all three, give yourself 3,000 bonus points. . 
16. Which president had no dog, but did keep silkworms that produced the silk his wife spun into fabric?
17. One president’s dog was killed by a drunk with a knife. The dog was named Fido. What was the president’s name?
18. One president had lots of dogs and a garter snake named Emily Spinach, because it was green as spinach and thin as Aunt Emily. Who was he?
19. How many different kinds of animals did presidents own, other than dogs? I quit counting at three dozen. Give yourself a couple of points for each right answer.
20. Which president had a dog named Cornwallis?
21. A nominee for Vice President gave a political speech was later named after a dog that had been a political gift. He won that election and later won a presidential election. What was his name and what was the dog’s name? 
22. One president’s Golden Retriever gave birth to a full litter of puppies in the White House. Which president was it?
23. How many presidents named Adams had dogs?
24. Which president named his dogs Him and Her?
25. Which president had a dog named President?
26. One president had two dogs named Hector. Who was he?
27. One president didn’t like dogs and when he gave away a puppy he received as a gift, he got hate mail from dog lovers everywhere. Who was that president?
28. Which president wrote, “Should we not add a provision for making the owner of a dog liable for all the mischeif (sic) done by him, and requiring that every dog shall wear a collar with the name of the person inscribed who shall be security for his honest demeanor?”
29. Which president had a dog who “wrote” a book?
30. Which president buried his dog on White House grounds?” (after it died)
31. How many presidents had their dogs “re-homed” because of their unacceptable behaviors? (the dogs, not the presidents)
32. Terriers and Shepherds are the second and third most popular dog breeds owned by presidents. Which is the first?
33. Only one president’s statue in Washington, D.C. has his dog beside him. Can you name the president and the dog?
34. Which president’s dog was also named Murray the Outlaw of Falahill?
35. Which president’s dog has a second statue in San Juan, Puerto Rico’s Paseo de Los Presidentes?
36. Which president’s dog has its own website?
37. Which president’s dogs have a Facebook page and a YouTube video?
38. Which president had the White House kitchen staff bake 25,000 cookies, some made to look like his dogs?
39. Which president owned two hypoallergenic dogs?
40. Which presidential dog owner served as both president and vice president without being elected to either office?
41. Which president wanted to include the family dog in his daughter’s wedding photos?  
42. Only one president danced with his dog at his daughter’s wedding. Who was he?
43. Which president’s 170-pound Newfoundland was the largest dog owned by any president? 
44. Which president owned the smallest dogs? 
45. Which president’s dog was born on the same day he was elected?
46. Which president’s dog was a gift from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover?
47. One president’s dog was made an honorary private in the U.S. Army. Who was the president?
48. Which president accidentally left his dog behind in the Aleutian Islands and was rumored to have sent a Navy destroyer to bring the dog back to Washington?
49. One president incurred the wrath of dog lovers and animal rights activists when he lifted his beagle by the ears while greeting a group on the White House lawn. Who was he?
50. One president had a dog house built to look like the White House, with a parquet floor, hanging fabric drapes and framed portraits of him and his wife hanging on one wall. Interior designer Theo Hayes was commissioned to design the doghouse for the First Family. As she told a Washington Post interviewer, “The down dog bed is red, white, and blue plaid. Off in the corner, just like in the Oval Office, there’s an American flag. Then we have a big silver bowl full of jellybeans and Milk-Bones — I felt like we needed a bit of sparkle. Outside there’s a window box in which we’ll put red geraniums. If I was a dog, I think I’d like it. It’s very comfortable and not overdone.” Who were the president and his wife?

The 2024 Presidential Dog Challenge

Calculate your own score

Give yourself 10 points for every right answer you get before looking at the answer key. Every time you say “I knew that” after the answer has been given, just as you do when you watch Jeopardy, subtract 10 points. Earn bonus points along the way.

1. How many presidents had dogs? 33
2. Which president had the most dogs? Some say it’s Herbert Hoover with 15 and others say George Washington had 40 or 50
3. Who is the first president that did not own a dog? James Madison
4. Who was the last president that did not own a dog? Donald Trump. You get 5,000 bonus points if you know that the dog in White House photos with Trump is actually Mike Pence’s dog. An editor sent me a photo of Donald Trump holding a dog’s leash, claiming it was Trump’s dog. Really? The dog’s name is Conan. He’s the Medal of Honor-winning Belgian Malinois who helped U.S. special forces kill an ISIS leader in 2019.
5. Which president enjoyed sitting around the Oval Office howling along with his dog when he had important visitors? Lyndon Johnson
6. Which president wrote, “I participate in all your hostility to dogs and would readily join in any plan for exterminating the whole race?” Thomas Jefferson
7. Which president named four of his dogs Drunkard, Tasty, Tippler, and Tipsy? George Washington
8. Which president named one of his dogs Satan? John Adams
9. Which president had a dog named Pushinka? John F. Kennedy
10. How many presidents owned mutts/mongrels/mixed breeds? Sources vary from 6 to 10
11. Only one president ever adopted a dog from a rescue shelter. Who was that president? Joe Biden
12. What word does the American Kennel Club use to refer to a female dog? (this got the highest score in the pretest). Bitch
13. What is the word the AKC uses to refer to a male dog? Dog (100 point bonus), and sometimes sire (100 bonus points) or stud (100 bonus points)
14. Which breed was owned by more presidents than any other? Hounds
15. Three presidents owned poodles. Name one. If you name all three, give yourself 1,000 bonus points. Grover Cleveland, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon
16. Which president had no dog, but did keep silkworms that produced the silk his wife spun into fabric? John Quincy Adams
17. One president’s dog was killed by a drunk with a knife. The dog was named Fido. What was the president’s name? Abraham Lincoln
18. One president had lots of dogs and his daughter Alice had a garter snake named Emily Spinach, because it was green as spinach and thin as Aunt Emily. Who was he? Teddy Roosevelt (100 point bonus)
19. How many different kinds of animals did presidents own, other than dogs? I quit counting at three dozen. Give yourself 10 points for each right answer.
20. Which president had a dog named Cornwallis? George Washington (100 point bonus for knowing your history)
21. A nominee for Vice President gave a political speech was later named after a dog that had been a political gift. He won that election and later won a presidential election. What was his name and what was the dog’s name? Richard Nixon and Checkers (100 point bonus for each)
22. One president’s Golden Retriever gave birth to a full litter of puppies in the White House. Which president was it? Gerald Ford
23. How many presidents named Adams had dogs? One
24. Which president named his dogs Him and Her? Lyndon Johnson
25. Which president had a dog named President? Franklin Delano Roosevelt
26. One president had two dogs named Hector. Who was he? Grover Cleveland
27. One president didn’t like dogs and when he gave away a puppy he received as a gift, he got hate mail from dog lovers everywhere. Who was that president? Harry S. Truman
28. Which president wrote, “Should we not add a provision for making the owner of a dog liable for all the mischeif (sic) done by him, and requiring that every dog shall wear a collar with the name of the person inscribed who shall be security for his honest demeanor?” Thomas Jefferson (100 point bonus)
29. Which president had a dog that “wrote” a book? George H.W. Bush
30. Which president buried his dog on White House grounds? (after it died) Richard Nixon
31. How many presidents had their dogs “re-homed” because of their unacceptable behaviors? (the dogs, not the presidents) Many dogs were given away, so give yourself 100 points for any answer
32. Terriers and Shepherds are the second and third most popular dog breeds owned by presidents. Which is the first? Hounds (100 point bonus)
33. Only one president’s statue in Washington, D.C. has his dog beside him. Can you name the president and the dog? Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Fala
34. Which president’s dog was also named Murray the Outlaw of Falahill? Franklin Delano Roosevelt (give yourself 1,000 points for figuring this one out)
35. Which president’s dog is part of a statue in San Juan, Puerto Rico’s Paseo de Los Presidentes? Franklin Delano Roosevelt
36. Which president’s dog had its own website? George W. Bush
37. Which president’s dogs had a Facebook page and a YouTube video? Barack Obama
38. Which president had the White House kitchen staff bake 25,000 holiday cookies, some made to look like his dogs? Barack Obama
39. Which president owned two hypoallergenic dogs? Barack Obama (100 point bonus)
40. Which presidential dog owner served as both president and vice president without being elected to either office? Gerald Ford (100 point bonus)
41. Which president wanted to include the family dog in his daughter’s wedding photos? Richard Nixon
42. Only one president danced with one of his dogs at his daughter’s wedding. Who was that president? Lyndon Johnson
43. Which president’s 170-pound Newfoundland was the largest dog owned by any president? James Buchanan
44. Which president owned the smallest dogs? Franklin Pierce had seven toy Japanese Chin
45. Which president’s dog was born on the same day he was elected? Jimmy Carter (100 point bonus)
46. Which president’s dog was a gift from J. Edgar Hoover? Lyndon Johnson
47. One president’s dog was made an honorary private in the U.S. Army. Who was the president? Franklin Delano Roosevelt (100 point bonus)
48. Which president accidentally left his dog behind in the Aleutian Islands and was rumored to have sent a Navy destroyer to bring the dog back to Washington? Franklin Delano Roosevelt (200 point bonus)
49. One president incurred the wrath of dog lovers and animal rights activists when he lifted his beagle by the ears while greeting a group on the White House lawn. Who was he? Lyndon Johnson
50. One president had a dog house built to look like the White House, with a parquet floor, hanging fabric drapes and framed portraits of him and his wife hanging on one wall. Interior designer Theo Hayes was commissioned to design the doghouse. As she told a Washington Post interviewer, “The down dog bed is red, white, and blue plaid. Off in the corner, just like in the Oval Office, there’s an American flag. Then we have a big silver bowl full of jellybeans and Milk-Bones — I felt like we needed a bit of sparkle. Outside there’s a window box in which we’ll put red geraniums. If I was a dog, I think I’d like it. It’s very comfortable and not overdone.” Who were the president and his wife? Ronald and Nancy (“Just say no!”) Reagan (1,000 point bonus each) and win big with 10,000 bonus points if you know the doghouse was formally unveiled by Zsa Zsa Gabor.

The 2024 Presidential Dog Challenge

Bonus

It was 1964 when President Lyndon Johnson lifted one of his beagles by the ears while greeting a group on the White House lawn. The incident was photographed and received national attention, leading to protests from animal rights activists. The public was outraged and the White House was flooded with letters, phone calls, and telegrams.

Johnson eventually apologized so he wouldn’t lose the dog vote (ask Mitt Romney about that one), explaining pulling on his ears didn’t hurt the dog and any yelps were signs of joy. An official from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was quoted as saying, “If someone picked you up by the ears, you’d yelp, too.”

The 2024 Presidential Dog Challenge

Here’s the list of presidents and their dogs

Where possible, I’ve indicated the dog’s names and breeds. Whenever you don’t see them it’s because the records are incomplete. 

1. George Washington: Sweetlips, Scentwell, and Vulcan (American Foxhounds), Drunkard, Taster, Tippler, and Tipsy (Black and Tan Coonhounds), Cornwallis (Greyhound).
2. John Adams: Juno, Mark, and Satan (no breed specified).
3. Thomas Jefferson: Bergère and Grizzle (Briard Shepherds).
4. James Madison: None.
5. James Monroe: Spaniel and Sheepdogs (no names).
6. John Quincy Adams: None, but he kept silkworms that produced the silk his wife used to spin into fabric.
7. Andrew Jackson: None.
8. Martin Van Buren: None: 
9. William Henry Harrison: None.
10. John Tyler: Le Beau (Italian Greyhound).
11. James K. Polk: None.
12. Zachary Taylor: None.
13. Millard Fillmore: None.
14. Franklin Pierce: Japanese Chin dogs.
15. James Buchanan: Lara (Newfoundland) and Punch (Terrier).
16. Abraham Lincoln: Jip (no breed specified), Fido. Fido is a dog name that was once as common as Spot.
17. Andrew Johnson: None
18. Ulysses S. Grant: Faithful (Newfoundland), Rosie (no breed specified)
19. Rutherford B. Hayes: Dot (Cocker Spaniel), Hector (Newfoundland), Duke (English Mastiff), Grim (Greyhound), Otis (Miniature Schnauzer), along with Juno, Shep, and Jet (no breed specified)
20. James A. Garfield: Veto (no breed specified)
21. Chester A. Arthur: None
22. Grover Cleveland: Hector (German Poodle), Gallagher (Cocker Spaniel), three Dachshunds (no names)
23. Benjamin Harrison: Dash (Collie)
24. Grover Cleveland:  Hector (German Poodle), Gallagher (Cocker Spaniel), three Dachshunds (no names)
25. William McKinley: None
26. Theodore Roosevelt: Blackjack (Manchester Terrier), Jack and Pete (Bull Terriers), Manchu (Pekingese), Rollo (Saint Bernard), Skip (mongrel), Gem and Susan (no breed specified), and a garter snake named Emily Spinach, because it was green as spinach and thin as Aunt Emily.
27. William Howard Taft: Caruso (no breed specified).
28. Woodrow Wilson: Davie (Airedale Terrier), Bruce (Bull Terrier).
29. Warren G. Harding: Laddie Boy (Airedale Terrier), Old Boy (Bulldog). 
30. Calvin Coolidge: Rob Roy, Prudence Prim, Ruby Rouch, and Bessie (Collies), Peter Pan (Wirehaired Fox Terrier), Paul Pry (Airedale Terrier and half-brother to Warren Harding’s Laddie Boy), Calamity Jane (Shetland Sheepdog), Tiny Tim and Blackberry (Chow Chows), Boston Beans (Boston Bulldog), King Cole (Belgian Sheepdog), Palo Alto (English Setter).
31. Herbert Hoover: King Tut (Belgian Shepherd), Pat (German Shepherd), Big Ben and Sonnie (Fox Terriers), Glen (Collie), Yukonian (Canadian Eskimo Dog), Patrick (Irish Wolfhound), Eaglehurst Gillette (Setter), Weegie (Norwegian Elkhound).
32. Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Fala and Meggie (Sottish Terriers), Major (German Shepherd), Winks (Llewellyn Setter), Tiny (Old English Sheepdog), President (Great Dane), Blaze (Bull Mastiff). 
33. Harry S. Truman: Feller (Cocker Spaniel), Mike (Irish Setter).
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower: Heidi (Weimaraner)
35. John F. Kennedy: Gaullie (Poodle), Charlie (Welsh Terrier), Moe (Doberman Pinscher), Wolf (Irish Wolfhound/Schnauzer mix), Clipper (German Shepherd), Pushinka (gift from Nikita Kruschev of puppy from the litter of the Soviet space dog Strelka).
36. Lyndon Johnson: Him and Her, Edgar, Freckles, Blanco, Little Beagle Johnson (Beagles), Yuki (mongrel).
37. Richard Nixon: Nicky (Poodle), Pasha (Yorkshire Terrier), King Timahoe (Irish Setter), Checkers (Cocker Spaniel).
38. Gerald Ford: Liberty and Misty (Golden Retrievers), Lucky (no
39. Jimmy Carter: Grits (Border Collie), Lewis Brown (Afghan Hound).
40. Ronald Reagan: Lucky (Bouvier des Flandres), Rex (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel), Victory (Golden Retriever), Peggy (Irish Setter), Taca (Siberian Husky), Fuzzy (Belgian Sheepdog.)
41. George H.W. Bush: Millie and Ranger (Springer Spaniels).
42. Bill Clinton: Buddy (Chocolate Labrador).
43. George W. Bush: Spot Fetcher (English Springer Spaniel), Barney and Miss Beazley (Scottish Terriers).
44. Barack Obama: Bo and Sunny (Portuguese Water Dogs)
45. Donald Trump: None.
46. Joe Biden: Champ, Major and Commander (German Shepherds). Biden was the first president to adopt a shelter dog. Major is the first dog from an animal shelter to live in the White House.

The 2024 Presidential Dog Challenge

These are some of the other animals owned by presidents

Antelope, alligators, flying squirrels, opossums, badgers, cats, roosters, hens, ducks, geese, canaries, fighting cocks, parrots, eagles, owls, macaws (look at all those birds!) guinea pigs, horses, ponies, donkeys, cows, sheep, lizards, fish, salamanders, garter snakes, badgers, pigs, rabbits, raccoons, squirrels, hyenas, bears, lions, hippopotamuses, and wallabies. Most of the exotic animals were donated to zoos.

The 2024 Presidential Dog Challenge

How many points did you get?

Did you notice?

Early in the list of dog names and breeds, there was a stretch where 7 out of 8 presidents did not own a dog. Those were the years from 1825 to 1853. If I was a historian needing a dissertation, I’d take a closer look at why this might have been.