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White House Pets: Animal Ambassadors
Gallery
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Airedale terrier Laddie Boy hosted the White House Easter Egg Roll in 1923 when President and Mrs. Warren G. Harding were away on a trip in Georgia.
Library of Congress -
In a highly publicized campaign, Fala donated toys to promote scrap rubber collection for the war effort in 1942.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum/NARA -
Charlie and Pushinka sit on the South Lawn in 1961. Pushinka was a gift to the Kennedy family from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev that year.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum/NARA -
President and Mrs. Gerald Ford and daughter Susan pet their golden retriever Liberty and her puppies. The Fords donated one of Liberty’s famous pups to a guide dog program for the blind as a means of publicizing this cause in 1975.
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum/NARA -
President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher with sheep dog Lucky in the Rose Garden, 1985.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum/NARA -
Barbara Bush proudly shows the puppies of Millie, an English springer spaniel, to King Hussein of Jordan, 1989.
George Bush Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
About this Gallery
With the growth of pet keeping and the widespread marketing of animals and pet products in American society by the late nineteenth century, public interest in presidential animals and pets grew exponentially. Whether purchased or received as gifts from well-wishers or foreign officials, pets became minor celebrities and goodwill ambassadors used to promote causes or smooth diplomatic relations. With the rise of the mass media and the increasing international importance of the American presidency, White House pets often came into the spotlight.