Other presidents have bought farmyard animals to live on the grounds of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: Woodrow Wilson had a flock of sheep, and JFK's daughter had a pony. As all good bear cubs do, they grew too big and Jefferson decided to have them shipped to a museum in Philadelphia, storing them in cages on the White House lawn for several months until all the arrangements could be made. I have been keeping reptiles as pets for over 20 years, and I have also worked with reptiles in zoos and nature centers. Still, it reminded us of a more literal claim about alligators in the nation's capital, namely the oft-repeated "fun fact" that at least two previous chief executives, John Quincy Adams and Herbert Hoover, kept alligators as pets on the White House grounds. We were unable to locate any earlier published references to Lafayette and his alligators, a result confirmed by presidential history blogger Howard Dorre, who reports finding no primary sources confirming the anecdote at all. By all outward appearances, her various pursuits are going well. National Archives: Hoover Heads blog. "Florida Alligator Will Be White House Pet." This is a great book for families who have multiple children, because they'll all be able to enjoy learning about the presidents. 34% average accuracy. And dogs and cats remain the most common furbabies. To cut lawn-cutting costs in the White House during World War I, President Woodrow Wilson brought in a flock of sheep to graze the lawns and keep the grass trim. It worked! We earn $400,000 and spend beyond our means. During some of Nixons most difficult times, the three dogs provided him with companionship and support. Quentin's animal adventures didn't end there. The largest and toothiest of these are the alligators of not one, but two, presidents. We can't disprove these accounts, mind you, but given the journalistic standards of the day it would be wise to take them with a grain of salt. George W. and Laura Bushs Scottish terrier Barney became a star in his own right in 2002 after he was featured in the White House Christmas video, and the Barney Cam co-starring fellow terrier Miss Beazley became an annual White House tradition during Bushs tenure. For centuries, crocodiles have been hunted for their skin, meat, and eggs. He volunteered his time and money to help the Americans. Please try again. Will you climb mountains and cross deserts to save the Sheriffs horse? An article there explains how Presidents Adams and Hoover each supposedly came into possession of the unconventional pets: Revolutionary War hero the Marquis de Lafayette received many gifts and honors during his tour of the 24 states in 1824 and 1825, but probably none more unusual than an alligator. She threw an actual badger at President Theodore Roosevelt. The reptile has made the news, too. The flock not only saved the administration the trouble of mowing the lawn, but Wilson sold the wool to raise money for the American Red Cross during World War I. Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley speaks at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference that's taking place just outside Washington, D.C. Nicole Lyn Pesce is News Editor, Trending at MarketWatch and is based in New York. President Donald Trump won the 2016 election by promising, in part, to "drain the swamp" in Washington, D.C.,a vow that prompted GOP pundit Newt Gingrich to serve notice on fellow Washingtonians that "the alligators should be worried.". They are also very intelligent creatures, and can even be trained to perform tricks. Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2014. President Adams' Alligator: and Other White House Pets (Little Patriot Press), Hardcover Picture Book, February 4, 2013. In this case, it was zookeepers from across the country. They had an English Mastiff along with 7 other dogs, 3 cats, 3 Canaries, a mockingbird, a goat, and several cows. A woman has been mauled to death by a pet crocodile in its enclosure on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. 0. September 5, 2013 By Presidential Pet Museum. Just look at how happy that raccoon makes Grace. which president had a pet crocodile. 19 / 46. The newest White House pet is Willow the cat . Top subscription boxes right to your door, 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, Children's Alligator & Crocodile Books (Books), Children's American Historical Fiction (Books), Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon. Some of the more unusual U.S. presidential pets have been gifts from other world leaders. 3 years ago. It created a bit of a cult . Father and son lived in the White Houseand so did their dogs. They share a unique body form that allows the eyes, ears, and nostrils to be above the water . It was a gift from Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette. Finding no sources cited in the article, we decided to look into both stories for ourselves, beginning with the tale of Gen. Lafayette re-gifting an alligator to John Quincy Adams. The reason for the president chosing that name for his dog is lost to history. In fact, most modern presidents have owned cats and dogs. Or they would have laughed about it if they had later found it funny and hilarious. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness. Played 19 times. , Little Patriot Press; Illustrated edition (February 4, 2013), Language 1. Unfortunately, we dont know what President and Mrs. John Quincy Adamss initial reactions were to this unusual re-gifting. Follow along with Buckaroo Beau as he takes care of the horses and cattle on his family's working ranch. This animal is the largest of the carnivorous kind I ever saw". The author was able to properly name every president except the current one. Parenthetically, our research uncovered at least two other reported instances of alligators taking up residency in the executive mansion, both predating the Hoover story. 0. The pony was a present from then Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson, and became a well-known sight on White House grounds, where it roamed freely. : Whats our next move? Willow, the Bidens' green-eyed tabby, explores the White House. She is also happily married to Peter Barnes (author of the books Cheryl illustrates and the Fox Business News-Washington, D.C., senior correspondent) with two daughters, and she is strikingly attractive and physically fit. There was a problem loading your book clubs. A small dog that spent a decade tormenting a crocodile on her owner's property in Australia has been eaten by the animal she taunted for so long. Woodrow Wilson kept sheep on the White House grounds to help with lawn care during his presidency. Which President Kept An Alligator In The White House For one, they can be quite dangerous, and even a small crocodile can inflict serious injuries. He had developed a reputation as being "frisky" and, with zookeepers eager to get their hands on some pygmy hippo baby-batter, he was paired with another hippo, Hannah. Dr. Jill Biden first met Willow on the campaign trail in 2020. Dorre, Howard. Old Ike was not a member. Of course, there are also some downsides to owning a crocodile as a pet. Zookeepers were able to breed them and breed them some more, to the point that the majority of pygmy hippos in captivity today are direct descendants of Billy. 5. The wife of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president, had silkworms. Our website offers a wealth of information on all things reptilian, from care and husbandry tips to in-depth articles on the natural history of these amazing creatures. Copyright 2023 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved. I would not recommend it, period!! But more than dogs have lived in the White House. But the name certainly is. So, not only did he spread his seed across a large chunk of the globe, but he lived until 1955 outliving Coolidge by 23 years. Odd book, but preschoolers will like the pictures. John Adams was the second US president, but the first to reside in the White House. 9 May 1890. They were piled haphazardly in the comers and on sofas and chairs. One broke free and managed to corner the museum owner in the kitchen, upon which the animal was promptly shot dead. Over the past decade in Adelaide River . Unauthorized use is prohibited. Members of the family in the Executive Mansion did not take very kindly to the new animals, however, and they were place in an ordinary tin foot-tub and consigned to the conservatory, which is connected with the main floor of the mansion. Billy the Pygmy Hippo found his way to the White House via Liberia after he was captured there by Harvey Firestone, maker of Firestone tires. While George W. Bush was president, he had three dogs and a cat at the White House. "Russell Harrison's Alligator Didn't Influence His Friends' Luck." The president then adopted the alligator as a pet. CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. FDR was a huge fan of animals, and Harry was his favorite pet. Schwartz, Thomas F. "Not a Croc: The Hoover Alligators." Among them, a tobacco chewing ram called Old Ike. They also have a very long lifespan, so owners need to be prepared to care for them for many . 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Upon moving in at 1600 Pennsylvania, Old Whiskers got busy thinking of a way to make the president look like a dumbass. Modern presidents know better than to have wild animals as pets. The stories sound both funny and scary with just the right amount of everything that is considered too good or too hilarious to be true and maybe it was. It should be noted that getting your heels bitten by a wild badger was the least-violent greeting one could hope for when passing through the Roosevelt White House . 14 April 1997. Harry slept in a separate bedroom from the rest of the family during his stay at the Roosevelt home. Irwan, the reptile's owner, said he bought the animal 20 years ago from local fishermen who were planning to kill it. The True Story of John Quincy Adams Pet Alligator, A Brief History of 5 Failed North American Colonies, The Rise of Kpop: How a Genre Took over the World. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com. And, lastly, here is our favorite alligators-in-the-White-House story, as told in 1890 (the second year of President Benjamin Harrison's term in office) by the Washington correspondent of theNew York Tribune, via the San Francisco Chronicle: Russell Harrison's Alligator Didn't Influence His Friends' Luck. However, we do know that President Adams did what any president should do: He lodged the gator in the White Houses unfinished East Room and its nearby bathtub. David Emery is a Portland-based writer and editor with 25 years of experience fact-checking rumors, hoaxes, and contemporary legends. Finally he had the mother of all a nicotine fits which ultimately claimed his life. According to White House legend he would freak out unsuspecting visitors on tours of the residence by showing them into the room with the alligator. President William H. Taft's prized pets were two cows: one named Mooly Wooly, the other named Pauline. Boyd, L.M. Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. No more changing the clocks? Marquis de Lafayette, the famous French military officer who served as a general for the colonies during the Revolutionary War, returned to America later in life to pay a visit to President John Quincy Adams. Meet Thomas Jefferson's mockingbird, Dick, who ate from the president's mouth; Warren Harding's dog, Laddie Boy, who was served a birthday cake made of dog biscuits; and Teddy Roosevelt's pony, Algonquin, who rode up the White House elevator. "The First Family's Pets: Hoover White House Pets." That was Herbert Hoover's son, Allan, according to the historical footnotes. A unique friendship between a man and a crocodile: nicknamed "Chito", Gilberto Shedden, a Costa Rican fisherman, and naturalist had an unusual friend: "Pocho", a huge crocodile longer than 5 meters (16 feet 5 inches), with a weight up to half a ton. Known as the "Crocodile Man", Costa Rican animal lover 'Chito' swims, plays, and . Credit: Courtesy of the Library of Congress. In the end, Chito decided Pocho could stay as a member of his family. After the event, President Joe Biden and his wife adopted the tabby and named it Willow after the first ladys hometown of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. He was given the alligator by the Smithsonian Institution and kept it in a bathtub in the White House. President Martin Van Buren (1837-1841) was given a pair of tiger cubs by the Sultan of Oman, but Congress confiscated them. But this wasnt the last alligator to saunter into the White House. So the cubs were sent to a local zoo. However, his most well-known pet was Checkers the cocker spaniel, who . In terms of the nominations, Theodore Roosevelt is tied with Franklin D. Roosevelt. Long before our nation had animal rights organizations and activists, some exotic animals took up residence at the White House. Presidential Pet Museum. Scratch that - Audrey Hepburn had a deer, Dali had an ocelot, and Queen Victoria had Tibetan goats. Irwan, the reptile's owner, said he bought the animal 20 years ago from local fishermen who . All rights reserved. Due to the lack of any concrete evidence that the sixth president of the United States ever had an alligator, although its not impossible, its highly unlikely that the pet alligator story was true. alfa romeo mito maserati usata; firehouse bakersfield bowling prices; keith winter fife council; cartel's cartel stallion He has had it for 20 years. The memo, however, was not sent to Captain Zebulon Pike who headed his own expedition later. According to some reports, he enjoyed using the gator to scare his guests.". Checkers: The Best-Known Presidential Dog to Never Have Lived in the White House. After a forest fire moves through a small California town, a class of fifth grade students reflect on how they survived, and those who didn't make it. Cranky. The White Houses official dog, King Timahoe, is frequently remembered as the first dog to enter the premises. Here are a few favorite names that you can bestow on your pet crocodile. Crocky. By the time Billy arrived, Coolidge had amassed an assortment of dogs, birds, a wallaby and a domesticated raccoon named Rebecca, a filthy but favorite pet of the first lady. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. Our U.S. presidents had all kinds of pets--lots of dogs and cats, of course--but they also had some very strange pets. Their large size, powerful jaws, and sharp teeth make them a dangerous predator. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Bo, the Obamas' dog, sits in the grass at the White House. Congress argued that the cubs had been gifted to the United States, not Buren personally, and that it was up to Congress to decide what to do with them. By providing food and water for birds, he induced scores of them to daily visit us. Bush, was also president. Some were given exotic pets by foreign dignitaries, with . , ISBN-10 Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consecte adipi. Where the New First Cat Fits in the History of Presidential Pets. As the saying goes, behind every myth is a story about something that happened to inspire it. A one-legged rooster was customary for Teddy Roosevelt, whereas William McKinley kept two-legged roosters. Pauline Wayne was quite the heifer herself, although how the Holstein got the name Pauline Wayne is unknown. This material may not be reproduced without permission. Lafayette brought with him that day a gift for President Adams: two alligators. But so far there is no record of anyone coming forward as a victim of the alligator prank. That's been the animal of choice for the last several presidents. Nixon loved them both as a pet and for their playful nature, which he valued. Though he concedes that the storycould be true, Dorre feels the paucity of evidence points in the other direction: I doubt that renowned suffragist Harriet Taylor Upton made up the story. His was a gift from the Marquis de Lafayette; it lived in a bathroom in the East Room of the White House. Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them. In turn, she provided raw milk (and possibly crippling diarrhea) to the first family for the last three years of Taft's presidency. [16] This made Spotty the first animal to live in the White House under two different administrations, having been born there in 1989 and . They were speaking metaphorically, of course, about Trump's intention to rid the federal government of corruption and waste. The Roosevelts had all kind of animals, including lizards, snakes and a one-legged chicken. I have not recommended it to anyone and do not intend to do so! Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, Crocodiles And Alligators: Large Predators That Pose A Threat To Humans, With A Little Practice You Will Be Able To Play It Flawlessly How To Play Crocodile Rock On Keyboard, Things To Consider When Caring For Hermann Tortoises. Like most teenage parents, the two eventually figured out what to do with the kids: let someone else deal with them. The commander in chief also had two Scottish terriers named Barney and Miss Beazley, but Spotty was the only pet to live in the White House during two administrations. Please try again. But this viral video will make you rethink about the very definition of the word. First, the Coolidge clan turned him over to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. January 17, 2019 4:07 AM EST. The president and first lady accepted a puppy as a gift from one of their friends, Senator Edward Kennedy.