{"id":3212,"date":"2020-12-09T03:39:39","date_gmt":"2020-12-09T03:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/?p=3212"},"modified":"2021-01-12T17:01:03","modified_gmt":"2021-01-12T17:01:03","slug":"dotus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/dotus\/","title":{"rendered":"Stressbuster: DOTUS, aka Presidential Dogs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Click on image to see the Stressbuster Page for more ideas.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Did you know that there is a whole industry in book publishing related to presidential pets<\/a>? Although these books are not available in the Rutgers Libraries collection, we were thrilled to read that dogs are returning to the White House<\/a>! In addition to the Wikipedia entry on the United States presidential pets<\/a>, there are several articles on presidents and their dogs or cats all over the world and going back to centuries.<\/p>\n

HINT: If you want to skip the text below, you can simply check out the “Presidential Dogs” exhibit<\/a> from the AKC Museum of the Dog. A virtual tour available with any suggested donation, starting at $1.00 from September 2020 <\/span>through January 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

To begin with, George Washington bred hunting dogs for speed<\/a>. His love of dogs might have developed from his love of fox hunting and gave telling names to them such as Sweet Lips, Scentwell, Truelove, Taster, Tippler, Drunkard and Madame Moose.<\/p>\n

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Image credit: Stefan Fussan, Visiting the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, DC, washington.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The ten most popular presidential dogs, including the ones that lived some hundreds of years ago<\/a>, include a memorable Scottish Terrier called Fala, one of the eight dogs that Franklin D. Roosevelt had while in the White House. The FDR Memorial in Washington, D.C. features Fala with the president.<\/p>\n

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Image credit: Cecil Stoughton. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During the Cold War, a heartwarming gift arrived<\/a> in the White House from Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to US President John F Kennedy. It was a dog called Pushinka, whose mother, Strelka, was one of the first dogs to fly into space (and return alive). Probably thoroughly checked for bugs, the dog received a hearty welcome from the family, including the pet contingent. Pushinka had puppies<\/a> with the Kennedy’s Welsh terrier to strengthen the frayed ties between the two leading nations: a dynastic marriage of sorts.<\/p>\n

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Image credit: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anyone remember when the Obama girls received their dog, promised them by their parents if their father won the White House? Barack Obama’s Portuguese Water Dog, Bo, was so popular that he became the hero of children’s books<\/a> and the model for a plush toy<\/a> still available in the White House online gift shop. A blizzard is more tolerable<\/a> if you have a dog to entertain you!<\/p>\n

Moving overseas, the first dog of France, Nemo<\/a>, is a Labrador Retriever-Wirehaired Pointing Griffon mix. President Macron’s pet was named after Captain Nemo, the submarine commander in the Jules Verne classic Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea<\/em>, reportedly one of Macron\u2019s favorite books.<\/p>\n

The people of Ireland love their president for his love of dogs,<\/a>\u00a0although the position of President in Ireland is largely ceremonial. Michael Daniel Higgins, Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, has served as the ninth President of Ireland and is often pictured with one of his two dogs, S\u00edoda and Br\u00f3d, who have their own Twitter account. The news of S\u00edoda’s passing<\/a> was met with widespread dismay in September 2020.<\/p>\n

For the cat lovers among us: rumor has it that, in addition to DOTUS, we may have COTUS.<\/a><\/p>\n

Do we have your attention? Check out some of these links, too. But don’t get too sucked in, this is supposed to be only a short break!<\/p>\n