Oval Office

Presidential Pets: George W. Bush’s Dogs Spot, Barney, and Miss Beazley

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President George W. Bush came into office with a dog who was already very familiar with the White House. Spot, or Spotty as family members called her, was the daughter of the first president Bush’s English springer spaniel Millie. Spot was named after Scott Fletcher, the shortstop on the Texas Rangers baseball team. She loved the outdoors and chased birds grasshoppers and anything else she could find at the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas. Like many White House dogs she welcomed visitors to the Oval Office. President Bush said, “Spot understands the decorum of the Oval Office, so she gets to go in.”

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Spot aboard Marine One

In 2001 Spotty was no longer the Bush family’s only dog. Barney the Scottish terrier arrived shortly after the 2000 presidential election. Though he was more hyperactive than Spot, the dogs became fast friends. Barney lost his companion in 2004. Spot was euthanized at age 14 after having several strokes.

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Barney in Oval Office, 2005

During his master’s time in office, Barney became a media star. He had his own website and “Barney cam” showed videos from his perspective of White House visitors and staff. The public looked forward to these videos on YouTube during Christmas time. President Bush called First Dog Barney “the son I never had.” Barney loved to play ball on the White House lawn and his favorite activity at Camp David was chasing golf balls. Though he was happy-go-lucky with the family, he didn’t like all humans. As First Dog he bit a reporter and another White House visitor. In contrast, he did get along with Miss Beazley, a Scottish terrier puppy given to Laura Bush from her husband as a birthday gift in 2004.

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Laura Bush with Barney, cat India, and Miss Beazley, Dec. 2006

Miss Beazley was named after a character in the children’s book The Enormous Egg. Perhaps Barney liked her because she was actually Barney’s niece. Anyway the feeling was mutual and Miss Beazley was a great friend to Barney. After Barney’s death from cancer at age 12 Laura Bush said, “Miss Beazley really seems to be sad… She seems a little lost looking for Barney.” After her own fight with cancer, Miss Beazley died in May 2014. George W. Bush gave Miss Beazley credit for never holding a grudge against Barney even though he got so much of the nation’s attention.

 

 

 

 

 

Presidential Pets: Gerald Ford’s Golden Retriever Liberty

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President Gerald Ford arrived in the White House without a dog. The family had owned golden retrievers before, so daughter Susan Ford and White House photographer David Hume Kennerly decided to surprise the president with a puppy. After contacting a breeder of golden retrievers in Minneapolis, they soon realized that it would be tough to keep the puppy a secret.

The breeder wanted to make sure the dog had a good home and asked a lot of questions. For example, the breeder insisted on knowing where the puppy would live. Kennerly said that the couple “lives in a white house with a big yard and a fence around it.” The breeder also asked if the couple owned or rented their home. Kennerly said, “I guess you could say they live in public housing.”

Unimpressed, the breeder refused to ship the dog. Finally Kennerly and Susan said the dog was for the president and explained that they wanted it to be a surprise.

In his memoir A Time to Heal, President Ford wrote about the day he first met Liberty. “I was in the Oval Office…when Susan walked in. ‘Daddy,’ she said, ‘if we ever get another dog, what kind are we going to get?’ ‘A female golden retriever about six months old,’ I said. At that moment, David entered with a copper-colored pup who raced around the Oval Office yelping excitedly. ‘Whose dog is that?’ I asked. ‘It’s yours.’ Susan and David laughed. ‘Her name was Streaker, but we’ve changed it to Liberty.’ Delighted, I grabbed the pup, put her on my lap, then got down on my hands and knees and played with her on the rug.”

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President Ford and Liberty in the Oval Office

Liberty spent much of her time in the Oval Office next to Ford’s desk. If visitors came in, she would check them out. After they met with her approval, she returned to her rug beside her owner.

Other presidents enjoyed the company of their pets, but President Ford often personally took care of Liberty. They went on long walks together. According to Betty Ford, the pair even got locked out of the White House together!

At three in the morning, Liberty licked the president’s face, indicating that she needed to go out. Ford took her on the south lawn, but when they came back the elevator was turned off. They tried the stairwell, but the door to the hall was locked. After much pounding by the president and a lot of barking from Liberty, the Secret Service finally let them in.

Liberty became a national celebrity when she gave birth to puppies. The public was so eager for pictures of the new mom that a rubber stamp with Liberty’s paw print was made. This way, Liberty could “autograph” photos of her and the puppies.

The Fords kept one of Liberty’s puppies, a blond one named Misty. Another named Jerry went to the Leader Dog School for the Blind. The others were given as gifts or bought by friends.

Even though President Ford only served one term, his fondness for Liberty increased the popularity of the golden retriever in America. To this day the breed remains a popular choice with dog lovers.

 

 

 

 

Presidential Pets: Socks, First Cat of the Clinton White House

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When Chelsea Clinton finished a lesson at her piano teacher’s house in 1993, she had no idea that she would take home a kitty. Though Socks had been a stray, he was intent on finding a home. He and another cat had been hanging out in the teacher’s yard, and as Chelsea came out of the house, Socks jumped into her arms.

Socks settled in at the Clinton’s house. Bill Clinton was governor of Arkansas at the time, and Socks had the run of the house and grounds. He could chase squirrels and other furry creatures to his heart’s content.

Socks’ life changed when the Clintons moved into the White House. Though he had the distinction of being the first cat to live in the White House since Jimmy Carter’s presidency, his owners decided it was unsafe for him to roam the 18 acres of his new home. They knew how much Socks liked to hunt, and that he might squeeze through the iron fence. Socks could go outside, but he stayed on a long leash on the South Lawn.

Even though he couldn’t hunt much, being the president’s pet had some advantages. For example, he got to sit on President Clinton’s shoulders in the Oval Office. He also made many new friends among the staff. One of his favorite people to visit was the president’s secretary Betty Currie.

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Official Portrait of Socks the Cat, 1993

 

As First Cat, Socks had certain duties to perform. He often accompanied Hilary Clinton on visits to hospitals and nursing homes. Socks seemed to enjoy the attention he got from kids and senior citizens. During these visits, he sat on Hillary’s lap and purred away. He also knew how to make an entrance. When he went anywhere, Socks travelled in his own carrying case with the presidential seal on it.

Socks became the first presidential pet to have his own webpage. An animated version of Socks guided children through the White House website. He also got a lot of fan mail from kids. The Clintons made sure that Socks sent a card back to his fans with a paw print.

In 1997, the Clintons got a Labrador retriever named Buddy. Everyone was thrilled–except for Socks. Hilary Clinton said that Socks “despised Buddy from first sight, instantly and forever.” Socks enjoyed being the only furry member of the family, and couldn’t stand having to share the spotlight with a boisterous dog.

To be fair, the dislike seemed mutual. As Hilary Clinton said, “if they were left together, Socks would be found hissing, fluffed up and with his back arched, while Buddy tried to chase him under the sofa.”

Bill Clinton’s second term ended in 2002, and the family decided it would be best to separate Socks and Buddy. Socks left with his old friend Betty Currie for her Maryland home. Even though he was no longer First Cat, Socks still made appearances with Betty for charities.

Socks died in 2009 at the age of twenty. Some of his ashes were scattered at the governor’s mansion in Little Rock, Arkansas. A plaque near the mansion’s back porch reads: “Socks. 1991-2009. First Cat of Arkansas 1991-1993. First Cat of the U.S. 1993-2001.”

President Lyndon Johnson and his Dogs

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When Lyndon Johnson became president, he brought two beagles named Him and Her to the White House. Both Him and Her attended official White House functions. Even though Him once left a puddle on a chair during a party, the president refused to make Him stay elsewhere while his master entertained. Both Him and Her had the run of the Oval Office. Johnson signed the law that created The Great Society–a set of programs that gave more rights to African Americans and poor people–in the presence of his dogs.

Johnson often combined press conferences with dog walks. Most of the time, these walks went well. The walks made good copy for reporters because the public loved seeing the president with his beagles. Johnson tried to get his dogs to do different tricks for the cameras. He stuffed his pockets with candy-coated doggy vitamins to get Him and Her to perform.

One act, however, made the American people and Johnson’s dogs howl. During a press conference, Johnson picked one of the beagles up by its ears. Animal rights groups complained that Johnson was mistreating the dogs. Suddenly Johnson and his dogs were front-page news. Other than that incident, however, Him and Her seemed to enjoy their time as presidential pups.

After Him and Her died, Johnson felt pretty lonely in that big house. Fortunately his daughter found a stray running along the highway. She stopped at a gas station to ask whom he belonged to, but no one knew. She decided to bring the little white dog to the White House.

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Lyndon Johnson Family on Christmas Eve 1968. Johnson is holding Yuki

 

Johnson loved the little mutt and named him Yuki. Johnson said that Yuki was “the friendliest, the smartest, and the most constant in his attentions of all the dogs I’ve known.” The president took Yuki with him everywhere. He and the dog travelled together on Air Force One. Yuki attended cabinet meetings, though he did so under the table. Unlike President Harding’s dog Laddie Boy, Yuki did not sit in his own chair for cabinet meetings.

One of Johnson’s favorite things to do with Yuki was to howl with him. Johnson claimed that Yuki “had a Texas accent.” Yuki and the president howled together in the presence of important visitors like the Chancellor of Germany, who was a bit shocked at the performance!

The president needed the support of his loyal dog as protests against the Vietnam War increased.

Yuki went back to Johnson’s Texas ranch after his master retired from the presidency. He was at Johnson’s side in 1973 when the former president died.