Jan 28, 2024 - History

What kind of pets have lived at the White House

Anna Spiegel

US First Lady Grace Coolidge (1879 - 1957) holds up her pet raccoon, Rebecca, for a crowd of children at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, Washington DC, April 18, 1927. (Photo by Herbert French/PhotoQuest/Getty Images) — First Lady Grace Coolidge (1879-1957) holds up her pet raccoon, Rebecca. Photo: Herbert French/Getty Images

You've heard of presidential pups and kitties like Bo Obama and Willow Biden.

But what about Rebecca "the Raccoon" Coolidge? Yes, first lady Grace Coolidge kept a pet Procyon lotor on a leash.

Washington officials have long been served by animals, not all of them common.

Flashback: George Washington bought a camel to entertain guests at Mount Vernon, and one has been making yearly appearances in December ever since. (Currently it's 18-year-old "Aladdin the Christmas Camel."

Flash forward: First families maintained exotics big and small.

Louisa Adams fancied silkworms.
Martin Van Buren was gifted tiger cubs.
And Herbert Hoover housed "Billy Possum" in a pen built for Coolidge's raccoon.

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What kind of pets have lived at the White House

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