Commander-in-Chief Critters Quiz | Miscellaneous Animal Trivia

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. George Washington was the first President of the U.S. which makes his pets the perfect place to start this quiz. Washington once owned three American staghounds; which of the following was not the name of one of these dogs?

Answer: Royal Gift

Washington was, traditionally speaking, a great dog-lover. His three American staghounds - a now extinct breed - were named Sweetlips, Scentwell, and Vulcan. Royal Gift was the name of one of his pets; however, it didn't belong to a dog at all, but rather a donkey! Some other animal residents of Washington's tenure were Drunkard, Tipsy, Taster, and Tipler - who were all black and tan coonhounds, and horses Blueskin and Nelson.

2. Known for his love of outdoors and animals, Theodore Roosevelt had quite a large variety of animals during his time in the White House. Which of the following did Teddy not have as a pet?

Answer: Tiger cubs

Roosevelt did indeed have a veritable menagerie of pets, but while in office, never a tiger cub - other presidents, such as Martin van Buren have kept them though. The name of Teddy's hyena has been lost to history, but his Saint Bernard was Rollo; he had several Guinea pigs whose names included Father O'Grady, Admiral Dewey, Fighting Bob Evans, Bishop Doane, and Dr. Johnson. Hmm...wonder if he was trying to send a message in those names?

3. The not-so-imaginatively named Siam is just one of several Siamese cats to have lived in the White House over the years. Aside from living with President Hayes, what distinction did Siam hold?

Answer: First Siamese cat in the U.S

Although President Rutherford B. Hayes had several pets during his presidency - including, but not limited to, Grim, a greyhound, and Hector, a Newfoundland - Siam was the first Siamese cat to be brought to the United States. Many of the pureblood Siamese cats in the U.S today can trace some of their line back to Siam.

4. The appropriately named William Johnson Hippopotamus, or Billy for short, was a pygmy hippo that inhabited the White House for a span. Originally brought to the U.S by a noted businessman, which president was Billy later given to as a gift?

Answer: Calvin Coolidge

Although he was often overshadowed by Teddy Roosevelt just a few terms before, Calvin Coolidge was quite the nature-lover himself. The businessman mentioned in the question was none other than Harvey Firestone, founder of 'Firestone Tire and Rubber Company'; Billy was found and captured on one of the Firestone rubber plantations in Liberia. Firestone would later give Billy to Coolidge as a gift; when the animal got too large, Coolidge donated Billy to the National Zoo. Since pygmy hippos were all but unknown in the U.S at the time, most of the pygmy hippos in the U.S today can trace their lineage back to Billy.

5. A cat of unknown pedigree, Dixie lived with which honest politician, often on the list of best-loved presidents?

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

While Dixie's pedigree may have been lost to history, quite a bit is known about 'Honest' Abe Lincoln. He was born February 12, 1809 and died April 15, 1865 after having been shot on the 14th by John Wilkes Booth. Mary Todd Lincoln was once asked if her husband had any hobbies, to which she supposedly responded with a single word - "cats".

As for Dixie herself, she and another cat, Tabby, were gifts to the new president from Secretary of State William Seward. During his first term, a frustrated Lincoln is supposed to have exclaimed that Dixie was "smarter than my whole cabinet"!

6. Kept as a pet by Thomas Jefferson, Dick has the privilege of being one of the first presidential pets to actually live in the White House. If I tell you that Dick was a kind of bird, can you tell me what kind?

Answer: Mockingbird

Dick was a mockingbird, an animal which Jefferson was, it appears, very fond of - he once bought one from a slave for five shillings. Even as President, Jefferson would spend time noting what types of bird he saw in the area. As for Dick, he was kept in a place of honor in Jefferson's study - the window sill, with some plants - but only when he had to be caged.

Otherwise, he loved to sit on Jefferson's shoulder and sing, whistle, and chirp to him, or even just fly about the room while the president worked.

The two were such friends that they would duet together - the human on violin and the bird with voice!

7. As a member of the cavalry, it is, perhaps, not surprising that Ulysses S. Grant had several horses as 'pets', even into his presidency. One of them, however, was named after someone you might not expect; what was this horse's name?

Answer: Jeff Davis

Yes indeed, Grant named one of his horses after the Confederate President Jefferson Davis! Davis the man had quite a political career before being elected President of the Confederate States of America - he had been a member of the House of Representatives, a Mississippi Senator, and even Secretary of War under President Pierce; aside from that, he also had a military background.

It is unclear why Grant chose the name for his mount, and little is known of Jeff Davis the horse aside from the fact that he was Grant's choice of war mount.

8. Andrew Jackson had, as one of his White House pets, a parrot that was - according to tradition - almost as fond of swearing as Jackson himself. What was this foul-mouthed bird's name?

Answer: Polly

Originally bought for Jackson's wife Rachel, Polly the parrot was apparently not actually taught to swear, but instead picked up the salty language from hearing it so regularly. One story goes that at the president's own funeral - which Polly was allowed to attend - the bird suddenly let loose with colorful language so strong that she had to be removed from the service. Accounts of the day indicate that Poll, as she was nicknamed, was an African gray parrot; the breed is a popular one to this day among parrot fanciers, and is prized for its ability to accurately mimic human speech...as Polly herself showed!

9. Beagles were a popular choice of White House pet for Lyndon Johnson - he had four of them while in office! Which of the following was not the name of one of LBJ's beagles?

Answer: Yuki

While Yuki was a dog belonging to the president, she was a mixed-breed of unknown origins - Johnson's daughter found her at a gas station. The other three dogs were purebred beagles. Him and Her were littermates, while Freckles was one of a litter sired by Him. Perhaps indicating a pattern of naming animals, Him and Her's sire was owned by (then Vice-President) Johnson, and named Beagle.

10. John Quincy Adams had a rather unusual choice for his pets; so unusual, that up to the start of the 21st century, no other president has kept these while in office. What unique animal did Adams have?

Answer: Silkworms

While some sources say that the silkworms actually belonged to his wife, the fact still remains that silkworms were inhabitants of the White House during his presidency. Sadly, it does not appear that either John Quincy or Louisa were interested in giving all the little squirming creatures names - or, if they did, the names have been unfairly lost to history.

Source: Author NovaLuna

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Tizzabelle before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Commander-in-Chief Critters Trivia Quiz

The president's residence has been home to many interesting animals as well as people, even before the White House was built. Here then, are some of the non-human residents for your quizzing pleasure!

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