Q 1. Him and Her were beagles. After the famously brash and aggressive president held Him up by the ears, animal activists were outraged and huge protests ensued. The president promptly lifted the dogs by the ears again in front of a pack of reporters — to prove that the dogs liked it. When Him did not complain, according to The New York Times, the president said, “He doesn’t yelp unless an A.P. photographer gets too close to him.”
a) Richard Nixon b) George H.W. Bush c) Lyndon Baines Johnson d) Ronald Reagan
Q 2 Bo and Sunny, Portuguese water dogs, are both modern presidential pets — they have their own YouTube video and Facebook page — but also traditional ones in the sense that White House bakers, preparing for the hectic Christmas season, included their likenesses in some of the 25,000 holiday cookies they baked for visitors one year. The president and first lady chose the breed because the dogs are hypoallergenic and one of their children had allergies.
a) Bill Clinton b) George W. Bush c Barack Obama d) George H.W. Bush
Q3 Pauline Wayne was the last pet cow to graze on the White House lawn. She provided milk and butter to the first family — including the notoriously rotund president — and was so popular nationally that her milk was once sold in little souvenir bottles.
a) Herbert Hoover b) William Howard Taft c) Harry S. Truman d) Theodore Roosevelt
Q4 Pushinka, a mutt, was given to the president by the head of the Soviet Union, who was far from his ally; her babies were known as the “pupniks.” Pushinka’s mother had been one of the first dogs to be launched into space and survive, so the gift of her offspring was clearly meant to flaunt the Soviet Union’s edge against the United States in the space race.
a) Richard M. Nixon b) Dwight D. Eisenhower c) Ronald Reagan d) John F. Kennedy
Q5 Socks the cat struck a pose in the Oval Office. He was the mortal enemy of Buddy the dog.
a) Jimmy Carter b) George H.W. Bush c) Bill Clinton d) Barack Obama
Q6 Not at all a dog lover, this president received Feller, a cocker spaniel, as a gift — and promptly re-gifted him, to the anger of the American public. He and his wife had vowed not to have dogs or cats in the White House, making him the first president since Martin Van Buren to live there without pets. Interestingly, this president — who presided during the end of a World War — is famous for the quotation, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog,” though he apparently never said it.
a) Dwight D. Eisenhower b) Harry S. Truman c) Woodrow Wilson d) Lyndon Baines Johnson
Q7 Dick was the favorite of many mockingbirds this president owned over the years. Dick lived in the White House and was allowed to fly freely. He enjoyed perching on the president’s shoulder and would start singing when the president played his violin. The ugly side of the story is that Dick’s doting master was a slave owner who bought his first mockingbird from a slave belonging to his father-in-law.
a) Andrew Jackson b) Ulysses S. Grant c) James Madison d) Thomas Jefferson
Q8 Which president, known for his laconic nature, used to wear his favorite raccoon, Rebecca, draped around his neck as he went about his business at the White House? His, wife, who is pictured above, did too.
a) Grover Cleveland b) Ulysses Grant c) Calvin Coolidge d) Chester Arthur
Q9 King Tut, a Belgian shepherd, was the president’s beloved companion, but sadly, the dog died at the White House, apparently from job stress. The Times's headline on the dog’s death read: “Responsibilities of His Position Thought Primary Cause of King Tut's Death.” As for the president, it was a cratering economy that drove him from office. Remember the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act — anyone? Anyone?
a) Warren G. Harding b) Herbert Hoover c) William McKinley d) Chester Arthur
Q10 King Timahoe was an Irish Setter; Pasha, a terrier; and Vicky, a poodle. Their owner — one of our most notorious presidents — was better known for Checkers, a dog he gave a speech about who died before he reached office.
a) Ronald Reagan b) Dwight D. Eisenhower c) Richard M. Nixon d) John F. Kennedy
Answers
1. c) Lyndon Baines Johnson 2. c Barack Obama 3. b) William Howard 4. d) John F. Kennedy 5. c) Bill Clinton 6. b) Harry S. Truman 7. d) Thomas Jefferson 9. c) Calvin Coolidg 9. b) Herbert Hoover 10. c) Richard M. Nixon