Every Pet In The Kennedy-Era White House

The Kennedy White House was nothing short of a  menagerie, but JFK's favorite was his dog Charlie, the only pet to move into the White House with  them. Others came later, and there were a lot. Not all of the Kennedy pets were kept on the  grounds of the White House, and, according to Vanity Fair, stabling a few of Jackie Kennedy's  horses in a manner she felt befitting to them caused some problems. When JFK was elected, Jackie  had two horses: Rufus and Bit of Irish. They were kept at a nearby

estate in Glen Ora, and yes, it  was the sort of place that had a private heliport. There's not that much information available about  either horse, likely because they were kept out of the public eye. In fact, there's so little known  about them today that the information listed by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and  Museum is wrong: Rufus is described as a palomino, but he was a brown-and-white piebald,  while Bit of Irish was a bay gelding. Rufus gets a small mention in Vicky Moon's

  The Private Passion of Jackie Kennedy Onassis: Portrait of a Rider. He was the result of  accidental breeding and was named after the local vet. Still, he ended up being such a solid  riding horse that he was credited with giving the First Lady confidence as a rider, including the  confidence to ride with John Jr. on the horse in front of her. Bit of Irish gets less of a mention:  He was named in honor of JFK's Irish heritage, and was the horse she was riding when she  took a high-profile fall

during a fox hunt. Jackie Kennedy's acquisition of the bay gelding  Sardar ended up being problematic for the White House. He was an expensive personal gift  from Pakistan's President Ayub Khan. Jackie was on a state visit when she struck up a  friendship with the horse-loving president, but when he gifted her the horse she  rode while there, it created big issues. According to Vicky Moon, she accepted the  gift, got Sardar on a transport to the states, then wrote her husband and asked  him to

pull some strings, saying: "He is so beautiful and high strung it would be  cruel to quarantine him in New York for thirty days. Cannot bear to be parted from him that long  [...] Could you not have [a] veterinarian examine him in New York and say he was free from all  disease and (have him go straight) to Glen-Ora[?]" She went on to say it was such a big deal  that observing the mandatory quarantine period was likely to lose him the support of  the ASPCA, to which the president responded, "[I a

m] doing nothing but taking care of Sardar." Sardar was reportedly subjected to a fire  hose spray with fungicide, then sent to his new home. He became a staple at horse shows —  including the Washington International Horse Show. It can be argued that the Kennedy family  is America's version of the royals, and their herd of horses didn't help  matters. According to Vicky Moon, longtime Kennedy adviser Fred Dutton said  that they were well aware of how it looked to have the first lady keeping a s

table  full of very expensive horses, saying: "From the view inside, we thought Mrs.  Kennedy's horses were pretty aristocratic, and didn't play well with Joe Sixpack." This led to an official recommendation that they  not accept any more horses gifted from overseas, but that didn't keep the herd from growing. A  wild buckskin yearling was given to the family by Lyndon B. Johnson, after being bred on  the ranch belonging to John B. Connally, who, in 1963, would be wounded  during JFK's assassina

tion. Originally named Little John, the horse was  renamed Tex and came with a massive warning: Do not let the children ride him until he's  been through extensive professional training. When Tex was handed over to a trainer, he  was described as impossible to handle. But it wasn't long until — under the guidance of  professional trainers — Tex became a children's pony and was often seen trotting around the  White House lawn with a young rider on board. In his memoir, Dog Days at the White House

:  The Outrageous Memoirs of the Presidential Kennel Keeper, kennelmaster Traphes  Bryant shared the Kennedy family's rule: "A dog could do no wrong." Bryant went on to recall, "A White House policeman asked me  if my foot was wet. I said, 'No, it's not raining.' He grinned and  I looked down and Charlie was just putting his hind leg down. Then Charlie  did the same thing on Mrs. Kennedy." Charlie — a Welsh terrier — was JFK's  favorite, despite his iffy behavior at times. But troublesome as he

was,  Charlie was also a trusted confidant: Bryant recalled that, during the  chaos of the Cuban missile crisis, with the country on the brink of war, JFK needed  a moment to compose himself and asked for Charlie. "They didn't tell his secrets, and he was able to confide in them without  any worries that anybody was listening." As Bryant recalled, "He petted the dog, and it  seemed to relieve his tension." Charlie would often join the president  for a swim in the White House pool. And if there a

re any doubts that a  Kennedy dog could do no wrong, Bryant's anecdotes about Charlie's tendency to  bite White House staff confirm it. Bryant writes, "He would slip up behind a worker [...] and bite  him in the seat of his pants or grab his leg. Then he would run like hell. [...] But nobody wanted to  take it to the President. I guess they figured if they couldn't get along with Charlie and it was  a choice of who would go, Charlie would stay." It was Caroline Kennedy who later explained how  —

at the height of the Cold War — her family ended up with a Russian dog in the White House.  She told the BBC that her mother was at a state dinner in Vienna when she found herself seated  next to Nikita Khrushchev. Caroline explained, "She ran out of things to talk about,  so she asked about the dog, Strelka, that the Russians had shot into  space. During the conversation, my mother asked about Strelka's puppies.  A few months later, a puppy arrived and my father had no idea where the dog came

from,  and couldn't believe my mother had done that." If it seems like a gift from  Russia would raise eyebrows, it certainly did. Bryant shared that, before  Pushinka was allowed to join her new family, she underwent a thorough inspection that  included scanning for listening devices. While Pushinka passed her security clearance  and officially became one of the highest-profile members of the Kennedy White House, Bryant  admits that he still didn't trust her. He described her as the sort of dog

that was likely  to snap, and did. After she snapped at the face of a visiting child, Bryant was worried  enough to voice his concerns to others. His warnings were brushed aside, but Caroline  Kennedy later said that the family believed Pushinka's unpredictable nipping was rooted in  her early days: She'd been raised in a laboratory. Today, it's an oft-repeated bit of wisdom: Spay or  neuter your pets. As far as the Kennedy family was concerned? That was apparently not important,  and so there

were puppies. Jackie and Caroline Kennedy named them Blackie, White Tip, Butterfly,  and Streaker, and their arrival was a big deal. Pushinka had previously lost a litter of puppies,  despite being taken to Walter Reed Hospital for care. The pups had a very different introduction  to the world than their mother did. Bryant writes, "[Life] centered around the puppies. The  children would romp and tumble about with the dogs. The first lady was anxious for them  to learn to handle the dogs with kin

dness." Eventually, two pups went to family friends, while the other two — Butterfly and Streaker  — were given to two of the 5,000 or so people who wrote to the Kennedys offering to  adopt them. They were nicknamed "pupniks." Jackie Kennedy was always adamant that her  dogs didn't need to be leashed because they absolutely and unconditionally listened to  her, but, thankfully, Bryant insisted. Clipper was a German shepherd gifted to Jackie by her  father-in-law. And Clipper had a wild streak. B

ryant recalled him taking out a  screen door in an attempt to flee from the sound of a helicopter. He also  wrote that it was Clipper who got him in trouble. He was exercising the big dog by  playing fetch when he was summoned into the White House from the yard and told to  never, ever do that again. Bryant writes, "Later, I found out why the President had gotten  so excited. [He'd] been practicing his golf swing and Clipper had leaped for the club when he  had it over his shoulder. Clipper had

almost succeeded in dislocating the presidential arm.  The President ended up swinging club and dog." Bryant also recalled JFK's response when he  tried to warn him about security in crowds: Clipper had a particular dislike for one of  the family's other dogs, and JFK suggested that getting between the two animals was  more dangerous than any crowd could ever be. It's every child's dream to look out the window  on their birthday morning and see their very own pony, and when you're a Kennedy? Of

course, you're  not just getting one pony, you're getting a bunch of them. In the most famous photos of Caroline  Kennedy riding around the White House lawn on a pony so chubby that trotting looks like it's  off the table, that's a pony called Macaroni. Macaroni came to the Kennedy family from a local  horse trainer, after they put out a call for a well-trained, kid-safe pony via their local horse  friends. Macaroni's original owner and trainer, Barney Brittle, recalled how the Kennedy  family k

ept in touch with him and updated him as to the pony's progress – or, more  accurately, shenanigans. In one phone call, Jackie admitted that Caroline had  raided her stash of nail polish, and that the end result was that Macaroni  was now sporting bright red hooves. Macaroni's appetite was legendary, and he was  notorious for not only grazing on the White House lawn, but growing so overweight from treats  given to him by anyone who could reach through the fence that another fence needed to be in

stalled.  He ate a good portion of the White House roses, and when he wasn't entertaining the children or  visitors, he lived in a converted potting shed. The Kennedy family's connection to Ireland is  pretty well documented, so it's not surprising that, when it came time to add another pony  to the mix, they looked across the Atlantic. "So here's the great O  Kennedy, the U.S. president." When Irish President Eamon de Valera offered  to gift the family not only a Connemara pony, but also two de

er and an actual person to care  for the pony, the initial gift was refused because some in the Kennedy camp pointed out that it  might not look good in a diplomatic sense. But the offer was eventually accepted. The  pony was named Leprechaun. He joined Macaroni on the White House lawn, but he didn't make the  trip alone: He was accompanied by the two deer, who were also destined for the  good life on the White House lawn. Macaroni's original owner  and trainer, Barney Brittle, was setting up a

shed to act as a stable  for the two deer when a Secret Service agent told him the president had  just been assassinated in Dallas. Shannon the cocker spaniel was another gift from  Ireland, but sources disagree as to where the pup came from. According to Bryant, Shannon was a  gift from Irish leader Eamon de Valera. But, according to The Limerick Leader, the Barry family  of Caherconlish gave Shannon to the president, who was a third cousin of Imelda Barry. Barry  bred award-winning cocker span

iels, and the family was reportedly thrilled when Mrs. Kennedy  later sent one of Shannon's puppies back to them. "Of all the dogs, I think the  most even-keeled one and the nicest dog was certainly Shannon.  Yeah. Shannon was a sweetheart." Bryant wrote that Shannon's arrival brought some  difficulties along with it, and said that it was basically at the point where there were just so  many dogs, there were bound to be personality conflicts. Clipper the German shepherd in  particular didn't lik

e Shannon, and when it came time for him to try to set up their beds and  personal spaces in Hyannis Port, it was a massive challenge. And Bryant confirmed that it was as  loud and unruly as one would think, writing: "Everyone had fun with the Kennedy  dogs — except the neighbors." The downside to Irish wolfhounds is that they  only have an expected lifespan of between six and eight years, which means that getting  one implies heartbreak isn't too far down the road. They're typically known as ge

ntle giants,  weighing up to 180 pounds. They're great dogs, and Wolf, the Irish wolfhound gifted to  the Kennedy family by a Dublin priest, was fine with most people, but hated other dogs. Bryant was walking Wolf when JFK told him  Charlie had snapped at Jackie. Bryant recalled: "That was the last time I heard his  voice. Two days later he was dead." Presidential historian and author Carl  Anthony is an expert on the everyday lives that go on in the White House, and  when he took a look at pres

idential pets, he noticed something. The election of JFK  was seen as an historic moment that put the country on the brink of long overdue change. "The torch has been passed to a new generation  of Americans, born in this century." Perhaps it's no coincidence that the Kennedys  brought a change in presidential pets, too: There was a cat in the White House for the first time  since Calvin Coolidge, nearly 40 years before. Tom Kitten was technically Caroline Kennedy's cat, but given that JFK was s

everely allergic  to him, his time in the White House was limited to whenever the president was  away. Then Tom Kitten's keeper — Jackie Kennedy's secretary, Mary Gallagher —  would bring the kitten to work with her. The last time it happened was in October of 1963.  By then, Tom Kitten was no longer a kitten and had been renamed Tom Terrific. With his departure,  there would be no cat in the White House again for more than a decade. Tom Kitten, meanwhile,  was still in Gallagher's care when he

died: In her memoir, My Life with Jacqueline Kennedy,  Gallagher recalled the family coming to visit the cat regularly, and when he died, she wired  the sad news to Jackie and Caroline in Italy. Hamsters are Pets 101: There's no need to  walk them and they're pretty low-maintenance, so they're typically seen as a safer option  than jumping right into getting a cat or a dog. While the Kennedy children had plenty of those,  too, Mary Gallagher, wrote in her memoir that: "Hamsters outnumbered every

thing, including  people. There was the time when one of them drowned in the President's bathtub. And  one morning, as I entered my office and turned on the light by my desk, out ran a  mouse-like creature. I emitted a wild shriek, breaking the serenity of the most  dignified surroundings of the land." "A mouse! I saw a mouse!" Not only did one drown, but  when mama hamster gave birth, the babies were reportedly killed and  eaten by the father, who was then, in turn, killed by the mother hamster

, who  promptly died. Bryant put it bluntly, writing: "[Those hamsters] were like  something out of a Greek tragedy." The Kennedy children also had a number of rabbits;  the one that gets the most mentions is Zsa Zsa. "That is so kind of you. Please, no pictures." She was named after actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, which is interesting, since Gabor had  a relationship with JFK. She told ET, "He took me out for three months.  I never slept with him. He slept with everybody. He took me out  because he like

d to be with me." It gets weirder. In 1961, LIFE asked  Kennedy press secretary Pierre Salinger about the rabbit. He claimed she wasn't  going to be staying with the family, and was going to be sent to an orphanage.  Oh, and that she had been a gift from a Pittsburgh magician who claimed she  could play patriotic tunes on a trumpet. In the run-up to Jackie's birthday in 1963,  the White House issued a formal request: "Please, No More Pets!" They stressed that any more pets sent to  the White Hou

se would be rehomed elsewhere. Buried in the story is a bit of information  on some of their often-overlooked pets, three small birds. At the time, the Kennedy  kids had two parakeets — Bluebelle and Maybelle — and they had just said goodbye  to another feathered friend. Caroline had a canary named Robin, and when  the little bird died in 1962, he was buried in a solemn ceremony that  took place near the White House playground. Mrs. Kennedy and her children left the White House two weeks after t

he assassination of  JFK. What happened to their pets is, in some cases, difficult to track down.  According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, two cages with Caroline and John Jr.'s parakeets  were moved to their new home ahead of them. Jackie opted to keep only one of  their dogs: Shannon. In his memoir, Bryant wrote that he'd disagreed with the  decision, believing it was cruel to take the dogs away from the children while they  were grieving their father's loss. He wrote, "It had been strictly

Jacqueline's  decision. [...] [She] made it clear she didn't want the trouble or the  expense of taking all the dogs." Where did they all go? According to  animal trainer Dr. Margaret Reed, author of The Dogs of Camelot, they were rehomed  with close friends and professional associates. It's unclear exactly what  happened to the Kennedy's horses, but Vicky Moon wrote that Jackie found  at least some comfort — or solitude, away from prying eyes — while regularly  riding Sardar. Coverage from The

New York Times in 1964 revealed that the deer were  donated to the Central Park Children's Zoo.