Archives for September 2022

Presidential pets have long been a source of interest and delight for the American public. Dogs hold sway as a perennial favorite, but other White House pets have ranged from the unexpected (Andrew Jackson's parrot, Poll, who allegedly had to be removed from his funeral for swearing) to the disappointingly inaccurate (John Quincy Adams did not, in fact, keep a pet alligator in a White House bathtub) to the truly diverse (Calvin and Grace Coolidge fielded a range of animals, from raccoons to wallabys to lion cubs). Was James Monroe in the ranks of presidential pet owners? Myth: Several published works (and numerous websites) of presidential pet histories attribute two dogs to Monroe's ownership – a spaniel who lived with them in the White House, and a Siberian husky named Sebastian. Fact: Monroe's surviving correspondence is notoriously sparse for its commentary on matters of a personal nature, and this dearth extends to references to any four-legged members of his household. In … [Read more...]