First Dogs Exhibit Runs Through March in DC
December 4, 2008 by Paris and John
Filed under Celebrity Dog News, Dog News
When President-elect Barack Obama promised daughters Sasha and Malia they’d “earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House,” he caught the attention of the world–and had travelers curious to know more about presidential pets. Now dog lovers can learn more about the furry friends who have called the White House home in a new exhibit in Washington, DC. “First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Pets” is now open at the Newseum, located on Pennsylvania Avenue.
The exhibit features photographs and anecdotes about more than two dozen dogs and their owners, starting with George Washington, who owned and bred dogs. Some other featured dogs include:
- Fala, FDR’s Scottish terrier who had his own press secretary
- President George W. Bush’s Barney, who had his own “Barney-cam” and became an internet celebrity
- President George H.W. Bush’s English springer spaniel Millie, the “author” of a bestselling book
- Warren G. Harding’s Airedale Laddie Boy, who had his own hand-carved wooden chair at Cabinet meetings.
- Lincoln’s mutt Fido, who was the subject of the first presidential pet photo
- Gerald R. Ford’s golden retriever Liberty, obtained for his boss by Ford’s photographer, David Hume Kennerly. Kennerly went out to look for Ford a dog in 1974 but didn’t want to tell the breeder who the eventual owner would be. When asked, “Do they own or rent?” the photographer answered, “I guess you could say they live in public housing.”
The First Dogs exhibit will run at the Newseum through March 2009.
For More Information:
• visit http://www.newseum.org
Above: President Gerald Ford in the Oval Office with Liberty.
Photo credit: David Hume Kennerly/Gerald R. Ford Library
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