Calvin Coolidge was so fond of pets that he built a large menagerie during his time at the White House. The White House calls this 13th president a conservative man of strong character, who had the good fortune to lead the country in a time of great prosperity.
The fruitful display of four-legged friends Coolidge brought into the White House may have been a reflection of the frivolity and sometimes extravagance of the 1920s.
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Readers Digest reports Calvin Coolidge was given many animals during his time at the White House including a miniature hippopotamus, two lion cubs, a baby bear and a wallaby. The president and his wife kept as pets a bobcat, two canaries and a goose.
Grace Coolidge loved animals too. She included her white collie in her official portrait, which still hangs in the China Room in the White House. She also had a pet raccoon named Rebecca she often took to official White House events.
According to the Presidential Pet Museum, the Coolidge family had 12 other dogs while in the White House. They had a couple of cats, a mockingbird and a thrush.
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The raccoon, Rebecca, was sent to the White House to help celebrate Thanksgiving. The Coolidges carried her around like a cat and were often seen with the animal. She was allowed to wander the White House and was kept on a leash when in the yard.
William Johnson Hippopotamus, known as Billy, was another unusual Coolidge pet. While Billy was eventually donated to the actual zoo, the pygmy hippo was smaller than a regular hippo, but still good sized at six feet long and 600 pounds.
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