A look back at pets in the White House

The yet-to-be-chosen First Dog, likely to be either a Portuguese water hound or Labradoodle, might be facing the second-most-pressure-packed job at the White House. Not only must he/she prove a faithful companion for Malia and Sasha Obama, but there's also living up to the rich and astonishingly varied legacy of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue pets. The menageries have included everything from Calvin Coolidge's pigmy hippopotamus, to Richard Nixon's scandal-plagued spaniel, to an alligator that resided in the East Room lavatory. And much, much more.

1. Which president actually had a dog named Fido?

a. Calvin Coolidge

b. Herbert Hoover

c. Gerald Ford

d. Abraham Lincoln

2. Which president had a hand-carved chair for his dog Laddie Boy to sit in during high-level meetings?

a. Warren G. Harding

b. Lyndon B. Johnson

c. Gerald Ford

d. Chester A. Arthur

3. Woodrow Wilson's ram Old Ike was famous for chewing:

a. gum

b. shoes

c. tobacco

d. everything in sight

4. Which duo sang together in public?

a. Grover Cleveland and his canaries

b. Lyndon B. Johnson and his dog Yuki

c. James Garfield and his cat Jon Arbuckle

d. Teddy Roosevelt and his macaw Eli Yale

5. Which president walked his raccoons on a leash and also had a wallaby, donkey and lion cubs?

a. Theodore Roosevelt

b. Franklin D. Roosevelt

c. Elly May Clampett

d. Calvin Coolidge

6. Which president had coonhounds named Taster, Tipler, Tipsy, and Drunkard?

a. Andrew Jackson

b. Andrew Johnson

c. Ulysses S. Grant

d. George Washington

7. Which president had a special signal prompting his dog Lucky to wag his tail to cut short meetings in the Oval Office?

a. Richard Nixon

b. Lyndon B. Johnson

c. Gerald Ford

d. Harry Truman

8. Zsa Zsa Gabor reportedly dedicated the plush doghouse for the Reagans' pooch Rex. Which White House pet bore the name Zsa Zsa?

a. Bill Clinton's chocolate Labrador

b. John F. Kennedy's rabbit

c. Jimmy Carter's rabbit

d. Dwight D. Eisenhower's Siamese cat

9. A dog given to President Jimmy Carter's daughter, Amy, was subsequently named:

a. Grits

b. Gravy

c. Polenta

d. Moon Pie

10. In 1952, vice presidential candidate Richard Nixon said he would return all the gifts he had received except for a dog named:

a. Domino

b. Checkers

c. Yahtzee

d. Parcheesi

11. Match the "gift pet" with its recipient:

1. A dog from William F. Buckley

2. An alligator from the Marquis de Lafayette

3. Two tigers from the Sultan of Oman

4. Two elephants from the King of Siam

a. James Buchanan

b. John Quincy Adams

c. Ronald Reagan

d. Martin Van Buren

1-c, 2-b, 3-d, 4-a

12. Match the type of animal with the last president to have one as a pet:

1. Lovebirds

2. Cow

3. Sheep

4. Garden snake

a. Theodore Roosevelt

b. Lyndon B. Johnson

c. Woodrow Wilson

d. William Howard Taft

1-b, 2-d, 3-c, 4-a

13. Match the president with his unusual pets:

1. Benjamin Harrison

2. Thomas Jefferson

3. Abraham Lincoln

4. John Quincy Adams

a. Two grizzly bears lived in a cage on the lawn.

b. Goats roamed through the White House.

c. Several hundred silkworms created material for his wife.

d. Pet goat Old Whiskers pulled kids around the White House Lawn in a cart.

1-d, 2-a, 3-b, 4-c

Bill Ward • 612-673-7643