Whoa, is that a cat in the White house?!  I stopped short the other day at this formal portrait of Socks that accompanied an article about his waning health. Barbara Kinney took the shot. I did a little research and found Barney in a similar pose:

Barney looks distracted. Photographer Alex Cooney should have thrown a shoe (or something) to get his attention.

Just kidding. I’m psyched to see which flavor animal they hoist onto the White Housepodium next. My guess is that it’s going to rhyme with fabazoodle.

My Wikipedia wanderings taught me a lot about presidential pets. And presidential pet names. Really, this record of first dogs can keep you and your friends occupied for hours. Highlights include Calvin Coolidge’s impressive roster:

Rob Roy and Prudence Prim – White collies
Paul Pry – Airedale TerrierCalamity Jane – Shetland Sheepdog
Boston Beans – Bulldog
Palo Alto – Bird dog
Rebecca and Horace – Raccoons
Ebeneezer – Donkey
Enoch – Goose
Smoky – Bobcat
Tiger – cat
Tax Reduction and Budget Bureau – lion cubs
Billy – Pygmy hippo
A Wallaby
A Duiker (a very small antelope)
A black bear

ALSO, you’ll like to know that John Adams owned a dog named Satan, and George Washington’s dog was “Drunkard”. The others:

Taster, Tiplet, and Tipsy.

Here are some pet portraits from before things got all formal up on the podium.

Buddy- Chocolate Lab

Millie- Springer Spaniel

Misty Malarky Ying Yang- The Carters’ Siamese cat

Rex- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Checkers- Nixon’s Cocker Spaniel (oh no!!!)

Liberty- Ford’s Golden Retriever

Fala- FDR’s Scottish Terrier

Billy- Coolidge’s Pygmy Hippo

In memoriam.