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August 18, 2010
Did you know that George Washington kept numerous horses and hounds, while Martha Washington had a pet parrot? It was our second President, John Adams, who built the first White House Stables. When his son, John Quincy Adams, became the sixth president, he briefly kept an alligator in the East Wing!
The White House
Martin Van Buren, president number eight, housed a pair of tiger cubs until Congress requested that he send them to the zoo. President James Buchanan kept elephants and eagles, and President Lincoln had a pet pig! Horses, goats, birds, sheep and plenty of dogs and cats have served as our presidents’ pets. In fact, over 400 animals have called 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue home over the years. Over the next few weeks, we’ll take a look at some of our past Presidents’ most memorable companions.
GOING TO THE BIRDS
Perhaps inspired by Mrs. Washington, Dolley Madison, wife of James Madison, also had a pet parrot. It was their only pet, and she loved it so much that when British troops set fire to the White House during the War of 1812, she made sure the parrot was rescued.
Dolley Madison
Thomas Jefferson kept mockingbirds, as did Warren Harding, Rutherford Hayes, Grover Cleveland and Calvin Coolidge. Mockingbirds are admired for their great ability to sing, and for mimicking the sounds of other birds, insects and amphibians.
Northern Mockingbird
The mimicry of Andrew Jackson’s parrot, Poll, was not so admired. The bird, who could speak both English and Spanish, was invited to the President’s funeral, but started squawking such a string of naughty words he had to be removed!
Parrot
President John Tyler did not keep a pet bird, but President Zachary Taylor kept a canary named Johnny Ty. He tried to pair it with a mate, but discovered that the other bird was also male, and the two didn’t get along at all. Oops!
Calvin Coolidge, who was sometimes called “Silent Cal,” also kept three canaries – Nip, Tuck and Snowflake – along with a goose named Old Bill and a thrush named Enoch. Maybe he kept silent because he couldn’t be heard over all that squawking!
Calvin Coolidge
Did you know that it was President Abraham Lincoln who first declared that the last Thursday of November should be “a day of Thanksgiving and Praise”? To celebrate the first Thanksgiving, a turkey was sent to the White House for dinner. Lincoln’s son Tad named the turkey Tom, and begged his father not to eat it. The President granted Tom Turkey a “stay of execution,” and his life was spared. Tom became another White House pet. To this day, every November the sitting president “pardons” a turkey, and that lucky gobbler gets to live out his days at a special paddock in the happiest place on earth – Disney World!
Turkey
Pardoned Turkeys go to Disney World!
While James Buchanan owned two eagles (which wouldn’t be allowed today), perhaps the most exotic bird to take up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was a double yellow-headed Amazon McCaw that Teddy Roosevelt caught and gave to his son Quentin. Teddy Roosevelt was the first president whose pets gained attention in the press, and no wonder! In addition to the McCaw, he kept several horses, lots of dogs, snakes, a couple of cats, a badger, five guinea pigs, a lion, hyena, wildcat, coyote, five bears, two parrots, a zebra, a barn owl, lizards, rats, a one-legged rooster, a raccoon, and a famous pony we’ll talk about more in another blog. What a zoo!
Macaw
The last birds to live in the White House were two parakeets named Marybelle and Bluebelle, and a canary named Robin. They belonged to Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy.
If you think a bird would make an interesting pet, be sure to do your homework. Some birds live only a short time, while others live longer than some people! Make sure you know what kind of housing, food and care the bird you’re thinking of would need, and never get a pet unless you’re sure you can care for it its whole life long.
Before You Get a Pet Bird,
Be Sure You Have Your Ducks in a Row!
Visit us again next week, when we’ll talk about the weirdest, wildest animals to have called the White House home.
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