American presidents are notorious for keeping weird pets. Calvin Coolidge had a hippopotamus while his wife had a raccoon named Rebecca, Martin Van Buren fought with congress for the right to keep two tiger cubs in the White House, and John Quincy Adams was gifted an alligator by Marquis de Lafayette which he kept in a bathtub. But the American president with the most pets, at least 40, and the most diverse roster of animal companions is Theodore Roosevelt.
All the pets (not all lived in the White House):
11 horses (his favorite was named 'Bleistein')
Eight dogs
Five guinea pigs (all with hilarious names: Admiral Dewey, Dr. Johnson, Bishop Doane, Fighting Bob Evans and Father O’Grady)
One hyena
One barn owl
One pig
One rabbit
One lion
One hen
A rooster with only one foot
Two cats
One lizard
Several flying squirrels
A bear named Jonathan Edwards
One rat
A badger named Josiah
One coyote
Several snakes (Alice's was named 'Emily Spinach' because she was “as green as spinach and as thin as my Aunt Emily.”)
One zebra
And finally, two macaws
Unfortunately, all of our recent presidents have failed to live up to the legacy of Roosevelt's White House zoo. President Biden has two dogs, President Trump is one of only two presidents to bring no pets at all, President Obama brought two dogs, and President Bush brought three dogs and a cat. The most recent president to get anywhere close to Roosevelt's record is JFK with 20 pets. For the record, if I'm ever elected president, filling the White House with bizarre animals will be my first priority.
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