Iconic photos of beloved White House pets throughout history
- Dogs are the most popular presidential pets, but some leaders have also had cats and raccoons.
- On Saturday, the Bidens announced their 13-year-old German shepherd, Champ, had died.
- They also have 3-year-old Major, who is a rescue.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
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The raccoon had been sent to the White House from Tennessee to be part of the first family's Thanksgiving meal. But they took a liking to the animal and instead she became a beloved and mischievous family pet.
John F. Kennedy had a total of eight White House dogs.CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev gave Kennedy a dog named Pushinka as a gift.
Lyndon B. Johnson's beagles, Him and Her, became national celebrities thanks to a spread in Life magazine in 1964.Francis Miller/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images
Him was bred with another beagle in 1965. Johnson's daughter Luci adopted two puppies from that litter, Kim and Freckles.
Johnson was criticized for the way he frequently pulled his beagles up by the ears.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images
The Chicago Humane Society criticized the ear-pulling in an 1964 New York Times article, saying it was the "wrong way" to lift an animal.
President Richard Nixon greeted visitors with his Yorkshire terrier Pasha in 1969.File/AP
Nixon's three dogs were an Irish setter named King Timahoe, a poodle named Vicki, and a terrier named Pasha.
Harry Truman's cocker spaniel, Feller, posed outside the White House in 1947.Thomas D. Mcavoy/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images
Feller was sent to Truman by a supporter. He gave the dog away to a family physician because he was not a dog lover.
President Gerald Ford was photographed with his golden retriever, Liberty, in the second story family room of the White House executive residence in 1975.David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images
Ford's daughter Susan got Liberty as a surprise for her father when she was a puppy. Years later, Liberty had nine puppies of her own.
President Ronald Reagan's dog, Lucky, yanked him through the White House Rose Garden in 1985.AP
Reagan was taking a stroll with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher when Lucky went rogue.
Lucky, a bouvier des Flandres, had calmer moments as well.Bill Fitzpatrick/White House/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images
Lucky was a gift for Nancy Reagan in 1984.
President George Bush and first lady Barbara Bush's dog Millie had a litter of puppies during their time in the White House.David Valdez/White House/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images
Millie was the star of the book "Millie's Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush" in 1992.
Bush played with the puppies on the White House lawn in 1989.© CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
One of the puppies named Spot later became President George W. Bush's dog.
First lady Barbara Bush sat with her granddaughter, also named Barbara, and Millie on the steps of the White House in 1991.Barry Thumma, File/AP
The family also had another springer spaniel named Ranger.
The Clintons had two pets, a cat named Socks and a dog named Buddy.Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
They were photographed together in the Outer Oval Office in 1998.
Socks perched on the backseat of the White House van in 1993.Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
Chelsea Clinton adopted Socks back when Bill was the governor of Arkansas.
A White House staffer lifted Socks up to the podium in the briefing room in 1994.Marcy Nighswander/AP
Socks was given free reign of the White House, often climbing on Clinton's shoulders in the Oval Office.
In addition to Spot, one of Millie's puppies, President George W. Bush had two Scottish terriers named Barney and Miss Beazley.Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images
Barney and Miss Beazley were four years apart.
Spot was pictured running on the South Lawn with a tennis ball in his mouth in 2001.PAUL MORSE/AFP via Getty Images
Spot was known as the more obedient of the Bushes' dogs.
The Obamas' puppy Bo was a gift for Sasha and Malia when Barack Obama won the presidency in the 2008 election.Ron Edmonds, File/AP
"I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House," Obama told his daughters in his 2008 victory speech.
White House photographer Pete Souza captured Bo running after Obama in the East Colonnade in 2009.White House/Pete Souza
The photo was taken on Bo's first visit to the White House.
Bo rode in the presidential limousine on a trip to PetSmart in 2011.Obama picked up a chew toy for Bo and did some Christmas shopping for Sasha and Malia.
Sunny joined the Obamas in the White House in 2013.White House photo
The Obama family announced Bo's death from cancer in May 2021.
"Today our family lost a true friend and loyal companion," President Barack Obama wrote on Twitter. "For more than a decade, Bo was a constant, gentle presence in our lives — happy to see us on our good days, our bad days, and everyday in between."
White House photographer Adam Schultz photographed President Joe Biden in the Oval Office with his two German shepherds, Champ and Major.Major was the last rank Biden's son Beau held in the US Army JAG Corps before he died from a brain tumor in 2015.
Biden leaned down to pet Champ in the Oval Office in February.Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz
He gave Champ a pet prior to a bipartisan meeting with House and Senate members to discuss supply chains.
On June 19, the Bidens announced Champ had passed away, aged 13.
"He was our constant, cherished companion during the last 13 years and was adored by the entire Biden family," Biden and first lady Jill wrote in a statement posted on Twitter.
Champ looked on as Biden met with senior advisers in the Oval Office.White House/Adam Schultz
"Wherever we were, he wanted to be, and everything was instantly better when he was next to us," the Bidens wrote in their statement after Champ's passing in June.
Major was photographed eyeing a tennis ball on the Resolute Desk.Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz
Major is the first shelter dog to live in the White House. He's had some trouble adjusting to life in the White House, biting a Secret Service member and a National Park Service employee in two separate incidents.