Buddy Clinton died for your sins!

Calvin and Grace Coolidge had one of the most loving and close relationships of all presidential couples. Although President Coolidge was know far and wide for being very taciturn his wife confided to her diary that he put his tongue to better use. But the general silence of the mansion led Grace to spend a lot of time with her pets of which she had the biggest menagerie since Theodore Roosevelt. Her favorite was her pet raccoon Rebecca who was hit with children from all over the world. The first pet coon to be owned by a president since Thomas Jefferson, Rebecca was a big hit at the annual Easter egg hunt where she would run out and gather all of the eggs before any of the children could get to them. This greatly pleased the frugal Coolidge’s who hated to give out anything for free. Unfortunately there was a tragedy when Rebecca unwittingly bit the hand of young Robert Taft who was reaching for an egg. Robert ran screaming into the garden to his Dad Chief Justice William Howard Taft. There was screaming and chaos and children running underfoot and the corpulent Chief Justice was tripped and fell, crushing both Rebecca and the diminutive Ambassador from Kingdom of Siam.
(Buddy Clinton Died For Your Sins, Doris Kearns Goodwin, 2009)

Buddy Clinton Died For Your Sins

Much as he loved to be surrounded by a bevy of beauties, JFK loved dogs very much and had many of them during his days at the White House. In this photo from White House archives, Presidential dog Charlie gets some love from Caroline as the president, John-John, and Jackie frolic with Pushinka's puppies Blackie and White Tips and family dogs Shannon, Clipper, and Wolfie. The Kennedy’s loved all of their dogs equally and took very good care of them. Unfortunately one weekend when they were called away, they left them in the care of Uncle Teddy who got the bright idea that he would wash them.

They all drowned.
(Buddy Clinton Died For Your Sins, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Playboy Press 2009)

Buddy Clinton Died For Your Sins

President Kennedy famously gave his daughter a pony called Macaroni. Now every little girl always loves a pony and she was very happy with her daddy. Unfortunately they had to get rid of the horse because little John-John kept calling her Aunt Eunice.
(Buddy Clinton Died For Your Sins, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Playboy Press 2009)

Buddy Clinton Died For Your Sins.

President Eisenhower was not very sentimental about animals as he never had time to keep pets in his Army career. But in the White House he got very attached to his Weinhermier puppy who was named Heidi. He was also a big fan of professional football and the new advances in televisoin. Unfortunately he had to have Heide put to sleep because she would always shut off the television with sixty five seconds left in the game and refuse to let anyone near the set.

(Buddy Clinton Died For Your Sins, Doris Kearns Goodwin, 2009)

Buddy Clinton Died For Your Sins

Warren G. Harding famously loved his Airedale terrier Laddy Boy. He would have birthday parties for his dog and invite the pets of his cabinet members. Laddie Boy had a hand carved seat that he would sit in during cabinet meetings although he wasn't allowed to speak much like Hillary Clinton during President Obama's cabinet meetings. It was reported that he howled for three days straight before President Harding left him in the White House. Much like Hillary Clinton did before her husband went to negotiate with North Korea.

(Buddy Clinton Died For Your Sins, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Playboy Press 2009)

Buddy Clinton Died For Your Sins.

The most famous photograph of a presidential pet happened during the administration of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. He was photographed holding one of his pet Beagles by the ears and terrible controversy ensued. As you can see in the accompanying photograph an already elderly Helen Thomas was present and started a campaign against the beleaguered President because no one had held by the ears in quite a long time. Most pundits of the present day also condemn the supposed cruelty of this pose except for blogger Andrew Sullivan who sees nothing wrong with holding a beagle by it's ears. In fact he calls it hot.

Let me be clear. Having Lyndon Johnson hold you by the ears is not hot. Trust me. I know what I am talking about.
(Buddy Clinton Died For Your Sins, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Playboy Press 2009)

Buddy Clinton Died For Your Sins

The most conservative of all our presidents had the most outre collection of pets.President Calvin Coolidge had at one time or another in the White House collected two white collies, an Airedale terrier, a Shetland Sheepdog, a Bulldog, a German Shepard, two Raccoons, a donkey, a bobcat, two lion cubs and a wallaby. But his strangest pet was Billy, or William Johnson Hippopotamus,a pygmy hippo from Liberia. A gift from the wealthy tire inventor and flagrant homosexual Harry Firestone, this pygmy hippo was one of the most famous pets of his time. He was brought in chains to the 1939 Worlds Fair in New York where he briefly escaped captivity only to be cornered in Times Square in an incident that later served as the plot for the famous movie King Kong. Much like similar immigrants from his continent, Billy fathered numerous offspring out of wedlock and is considered the common ancestor to most of the pygmy hippos that exist in America to this very day. At the time of his demise in 1955 he had sired twenty three offspring which is record only once equaled by Shawn Kemp formerly of the Seattle Supersonics.

A pygmy hippo did not reside again in the White House until President Barack Obama allowed his wife's aunt Madea Robinson to move in much against his own better judgement.
(Buddy Clinton Died For Your Sins, Doris Kearns Godwin, Playboy Press 2009)

Buddy Clinton Died for Your Sins

In 1898 President William McKinley was gifted with a Yellow Headed Mexican Parrot from the administration of El Pesidente Porfio Diaz. This parrot was a particular favorite of the President as he was ensconced in a cage in the oval office. The parrot was named "Washington Post" after the newspaper as well as the informative and funny things it would shout out at various visitors.
It was an very astute avian opinion maker as it would shout out perceptive comments such as "Dirty Whore" when Alice Roosevelt would enter the room. Unfortunately one of the words it never uttered was "Duck" so after President McKinley was assassinated, the unlucky bird was brought before the first Presidential Death Panel and was summarily executed. It was stuffed and presently is perched on a hat owned by Tim Gunn of "Project Runway."
(Buddy Clinton Died For Your Sins, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Playboy Press 2009)

Buddy Clinton Died for your Sins

William Howard Taft loved butter. He ate butter on everything. He even put it on bacon. So he needed source of fresh milk for both his growing family and expanding waistline. When he moved in to the White House he took his pet cow "Mooley Wooly" to give his family milk for the first year and an half of his administration. Due to an unfortunate barbecue accident that turned poor Mooley Wooly to hamburger, he had to find a new first cow. He selected a firm young Hoslstein which his children renamed "Pauline Wayne." Formerly named Marion Morrison this comely heifer produced copious amounts of milk and was a favorite pet of the rotund president. He often visited the beauteous bovine on the White House lawn where it grazed contentedly chewing on it cud. The President loved to have milk direct from the teat but because of his immense girth he was unable to bend over to reach the udders. So he would grab the back leg of his placid pet and tip her over so he could get to her milk engorged teats. Thus a new sensation was spawned as young men all over America would sneak into pastures to tip over cows and nuzzle at their teats. This behavior scandelized polite society and he was forced to give up his beloved bovine companion due to the strenght of public opinion.

There would not be another cow at the White House until Hillary Clinton assumed the title of First Lady.

(Buddy Clinton Died For Your Sins, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Playboy Press 2009)