Pet Party Line is a column written by Beth Byrd and is featured weekly in The Citizen News, one of our local newspapers.

"PRESIDENTIAL PETS"

There was an interesting TV news story the other day on ABC concerning pets in politics and how they can be used as secret public relations weapons in the upcoming presidential campaigns. So let’s look back a bit….

Our first President, George Washington owned Polly the parrot, 36 hounds, and lots of horses. Calvin Coolidge has 33 pets including two raccoons and a wallaby. How could we not remember the famous Scottish Terrier, Fala, who accompanied Franklin Delano Roosevelt everywhere.

President Harry Truman commented that Washington could be such a lonely town and if you wanted a true friend - you should "get a dog." Dwight Eisenhower owned a Weimaraner named Heidi.

Some of the more famous presidential pets were Caroline Kennedy’s pony, Macaroni, and Richard Nixon’s Cocker Spaniel, Checkers. LBJ had two Beagles named Him and Her. He received much criticism of mistreatment when he held one of them up by the ears for a photo!

President Gerald Ford had a Golden Retriever, Liberty, and a Siamese cat, Chan. The Carters brought Grits the dog, and Misty Malarky Ying Yang (another Siamese) to Washington.

Rex, a King Charles Spaniel, and Lucky the Sheepdog belonged to President Ronald Reagan. Millie, George H. W. and Barbara’s Springer Spaniel was so talented that she published her own book! They also owned Ranger, one of Millie’s pups.

Socks, the Clinton’s cat, also had literary talents, and Buddy, the chocolate Lab, was a favorite of the WH press corps.

George W. Bush had two dogs and a cat before he gave his wife Laura a Scottish Terrier puppy named Miss Beazley for her birthday in 2004. Source: Fact Monster.

Who knows what 2008 holds for the next pet occupants of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC? Guess we will just have to wait and see!