Some U.S. presidents brought dogs, some brought cats—and then there were the ones who decided to get weird with their pets instead. In fact, some of them went as far as having raccoons in limos & lions with budget-themed names, even an alligator relaxing in a bathtub. Here are fourteen of the strangest presidential pets ever. No matter how bizarre these might sound, they’re all entirely real.
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An Alligator in the White House Bathroom
The story goes that the Marquis de Lafayette showed up with an alligator as a gift for President John Quincy Adams, and instead of freaking out, Adams just put it into the East Room bathtub. Nobody used that bathroom after & Adams even liked showing it off—guests would come by, and instead of politics, they’d see a full-on reptile. It stayed for a few months and, as you might expect, it freaked out more than a few people.
Fighting for Baby Tigers
When Van Buren received two tiger cubs from the Sultan of Oman, he had to fight to keep them because Congress argued he couldn’t have jungle predators in the White House. Van Buren actually argued with them about it, insisting the tigers were his personal gift—spoiler alert, he lost. The cubs were sent to a zoo and this genuinely annoyed Buren, as he sent letters and tried to make his case. He tried to claim they were harmless, but everyone knew that wasn’t true.
A Raccoon Named Rebecca
In 1926, someone sent the Coolidges a raccoon to eat, but instead of turning it into a meal, President Calvin Coolidge decided to keep the raccoon and named her Rebecca. She ended up with a leash & a little house—she even went on car rides and wandered the halls like she owned the place. Rebecca made appearances at official events, with Coolidge knitting her a collar and people writing in to ask how Rebecca was doing.
Tax Reduction and Budget Bureau
But that’s not all for President Coolidge, as he also received two lion cubs from South Africa’s mayor of Johannesburg—he called them Tax Reduction and Budget Bureau. They didn’t stay long at the White House and were eventually moved to a zoo, but not before posing for a few awkward family photos. And yes, the staff had to feed them raw meat while they were living at the White House.
Theodore Roosevelt’s Badger
President Theodore Roosevelt’s son picked up a badger named Josiah during a trip out west and he took it back with him to D.C., which was cute until he started biting visitors. The Roosevelts didn’t seem too worried, even though Josiah would hiss at people who got too close and had to be physically removed from some meetings. Still, Roosevelt let him hang around and it’s probably because he liked how scrappy he was.
Roosevelt’s One-Legged Rooster
Roosevelt had other animals, too, including a one-legged rooster, although nobody seems completely sure how he lost the leg. Even so, he didn’t let it slow him down and the rooster continued hopping around the White House & blended into the mixture of other strange presidential animals. Roosevelt also had snakes and a pig, among other creatures, so it’s clear that he really was interested in odd pets.
Thomas Jefferson Received Two Grizzly Bear Cubs
Explorer Zebulon Pike gave President Thomas Jefferson two bear cubs and while they were small at first, Jefferson later admitted that they would become a problem. He kept them in a wooden enclosure on the lawn near the front before eventually giving them to a museum. Jefferson called them “too dangerous” to keep long-term, but still thought that they were a cool gift.
Belgian Police Dogs and a Wild Opossum
President Herbert Hoover was more of a “pets on parade” guy—while he had Belgian police dogs, he also had a wild opossum that had wandered onto the White House grounds and somehow stayed. The family named him Billy and he’d show up near the garden during evening walks, with the staff just letting it happen. He would even remain there while dignitaries were at the White House and Hoover didn’t seem to think anything of it.
A Ram With Curling Horns
Old Ike was President Woodrow Wilson’s ram, who was there to mow the lawn—the president used a whole flock of sheep during WWI to save money. Ike was the alpha ram and would chew tobacco while occasionally charging people, with his favorite targets being deliverymen & new staff who didn’t know better. Nobody got rid of him and the ram had his own space & his own fans that mailed him chewing tobacco as a gift.
Andrew Jackson’s Cursing Parrot
President Andrew Jackson had a parrot named Poll who picked up a few…colorful phrases over the years. In fact, at Jackson’s funeral, Poll had to be physically removed from the service because he wouldn’t stop swearing at mourners and nobody could get a word in over the bird’s foul-mouthed commentary. No one really knew where Poll learned the words, but let’s just say Jackson probably didn’t mind.
Benjamin Harrison Set Up a Goat-Pulled Cart
Old Whiskers was a pet with a job and he would pull President Benjamin Harrison’s grandchildren around the White House grounds in a little cart. But one day, Whiskers bolted down the street with the cart still attached and the staff had to run after him while people on Pennsylvania Avenue just watched. Thankfully, the kids were fine and it wasn’t the first time Whiskers made a break for it—or the last.
The Elevator Pony
When you’re the president’s kid, your pony doesn’t stay in the stables—Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F Kennedy, had a pony named Macaroni that the staff actually brought inside. Caroline once had the pony ride up the White House elevator to her bedroom window just so she could wave at it and he also showed up in photos with Caroline on the White House lawn. In fact, the pony had more fans than most members of Congress.
James Buchanan’s Elephants
Of all the presidential gifts, this one is by far the strangest, as the King of Siam (modern Thailand) gave President James Buchanan a full herd of elephants. Buchanan politely declined the entire herd but accepted two, and since the White House isn’t exactly elephant-friendly, they were shipped off somewhere else. The offer came with a letter explaining they were for use in war or heavy transport, although they probably wouldn’t fare well in America.
Hamsters Lost in the White House
One of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s daughters had hamsters, which was normal enough, until they escaped—for days, people heard mysterious scratching inside the walls. The staff tore up floorboards to find them and while one eventually came back, the other was never seen again. Rumor has it, it still haunts the HVAC system and staff started putting food near baseboards, just in case it wandered out again. It didn’t.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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