slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

From 'Fun Facts About The Presidents, by George Sullivan...

When Gerald Ford was President, from 1974-1977, he owned a golden retriever named Liberty. The dog was kept in a kennel on the ground floor of the White House. But when Liberty was about to give a birth to a litter, she was moved to a room on the third floor of the White House, to be close to her trainer.

One evening the trainer had to go out. President Ford offered to keep the dog in his bedroom. "Mr. President, she's no trouble at all," said the trainer. "If she wants to go out,she'll come and lick your face."

Sure enough, at about three o'clock the next morning, the President was awakened from a deep sleep when Liberty came lapping. Drowsily, the President put on his robe and slippers, then took the elevator to the ground floor, went outside with Liberty and waited until she returned.

When the President and the dog went back to the house and the President pressed the button for the elevator, nothing happened. Someone had cut the power. The President and Liberty had no choice but to take the stairs.

At the top of the stairwell was a door that led to the family living quarters. When the President tried to turn the knob, he found the door was locked.

He went back down the stairs to the second floor and tried the door there. It was locked, too. The first floor door was also locked.

Ford got upset. Here he was, the President, and unable to get into the White House. He started pounding on walls. Lights went on. Doors opened. Secret Service agents appeared. When they found out what had happened, they were embarrassed.

Ford told them not to worry. All he had missed, he said, were a few minutes sleep.

Not long after, Liberty gave birth to nine puppies in the White House. The new mother then went back to living in the White House kennel.

Like Gerald Ford, most Presidents have enjoyed keeping dogs. They're the most popular White House pet by far. The dog-owning Presidents have included Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, William H. Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Jackson, Lincoln, both Roosevelts, Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Eisenhower, Ford, Reagan and Bush.

Franklin D. Roosevelt's Scottie, named Fala, was one of the most famous of all White House dogs. During the summer of 1944, Fala accompanied Roosevelt on a voyage to Hawaii aboard the cruiser Baltimore. The President noticed that Fala kept disappearing for hours at a time. In addition, the dog's hair seemed to be falling out in patches.

Upon investigation, the President learned that some of the sailors had been luring Fala to their living quarters by feeding him table scraps. Then the sailors would snip off tufts of Fala's hair for souvenirs. Roosevelt quickly put an end to the feeding and snipping.

During the years of WWII, from 1941 to 1945, when the President traveled by train, his security personnel tried to keep his plans secret. But Fala, who insisted on going for a walk at every train stop, often gave away the fact that the President was passing through town. People who saw and recognized Fala knew that Roosevelt was nearby. The Secret Service agents who guarded the President nicknamed Fala "The Informer."

George Washington bred hounds, treated them like members of the family and gave them unusual names. Among the males were Drunkard, Tarter and Trueman. The females included Duchess, True Love and Sweet Lips.

Warren G. Harding the twenty-ninth President, owned an Airedale named Laddie Boy who always brought the President his newspapers. When Laddie Boy had a birthday, he was served a cake made of layers of dog biscuits topped with icing.

When President Harding died in office in 1923, the Newsboys Association launched a campaign to have a statue made of Laddie Boy as a tribute to the President. Newsboys throughout the country contributed pennies for the cause. The statue is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Herbert Hoover once issued an order forbidding members of his White House staff to pet his dog, King Tut. The problem was that King Tut was getting so much love and affection from everyone else that he was ignoring the President.

Lyndon B. Johnson, in his seven years in the White House (1963-1969) owned several dogs. One of them, Yuki, was provided with plastic boots to wear when it rained. Edgar was a gift from J. Edgar Hoover, the director of the FBI. When Edgar arrived, Bianca, another Johnson dog, became jealous of the newcomer and bit Edgar so severely that several stitches were required

Johnson's best known dogs were a pair of beagles, Him and Her. On January 20, 1965, Him won lasting fame when Johnson brought the dog to his inaugural parade. No other White House pet had ever been so honored.

When Him was issued Washington, D.C., dog license #1 and Her received license #2, it triggered a controversy. Did this mean, a reporter wanted to know that the President had abandoned his pledge to give women equal opportunity?

Johnson got into real trouble when he was once photographed lifting Him by the ears. When the photo appeared in newspapers throughout the country, angry dog lovers by the thousands wrote or telephoned the White House to protest.

Late in 1986, President and Mrs. Reagan were presented with a nine-week-old sheepdog. Tiny and cuddly, the puppy was named Lucky.

Lucky grew fast. Within months, she stood more than two feet tall and weighed around eighty pounds. "She's like a little pony," said a member of the First Lady's staff.

Mrs. Reagan had a hard time controlling Lucky whenever she tried to walk the dog on a leash. "At times it looks like Mrs. Reagan is water skiing or skateboarding behind the dog," said another White House staff member. "There's a real fear she's going to fall down."

Lucky was give five weeks of obedience training but unfortunately it didn't help. She still had too much energy.

The final solution was to send Lucky to the Reagan's California ranch, where she would have four other dogs for company and wide open spaces to run in.

Lucky was replaced at the White House by Rex, a year-old King Charles Spaniel...not as much fun as Lucky but better behaved. Nancy Reagan could take Rex for a walk without becoming involved in a tug-of-war.

Trooper745 Loc: Carolina

Amusing.

Boo_Boo Loc: Jellystone

Cool facts! I had no idea about the pets of the WH..... I think one president had a cat...thought it was Bush Jr., but I can not swear to it.

Thank you for the charming post.

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

With all the dog lovers/owners on OPP, I thought it would be an interesting change of pace...and, amusing.

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

Thank you, Pennylynn. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I did so, also...enough to share.

Coos Bay Tom Loc: coos bay oregon

Enjoyed the reading. I could not think of life without a dog

Ricktloml

Come to think of it, we often hear about the presidents' dog(s), but rarely hear about cats.

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

I just posted the following....

https://www.onepoliticalplaza.com/t-137728-1.html#2523295

bahmer

How old is this article that you posted? They left out your favorite president Barack Obama didn't he and his family have two dogs at the white house? I remember seeing pictures of BO walking them on occasion.

Trooper745 Loc: Carolina

I think it would be more correct to say that the dogs were walking him. Obama certainly wasn't the brains if that threesome. It's just sad that the dogs couldn't pick up the crap Obama made out of everything he touched, and dispose of it.

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

It's an older book, picked up at a garage sale. It was revised and updated in January of 1994.

BTW...FYI, my favorite president remains Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt.

bahmer

I had to give you a little dig.

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

Yeah, and with it...probably kick the dirt over my casket and grave.

bahmer

I sent you a PM.

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

I've already responded.