The Curious History of Pets in the White House

　　According to reports, there is a museum in the United States with more than 500 exhibits related to the president’s pets. The earliest exhibits can be traced back to 1789.
　　The number of pets kept by the president of the United States is not only in the number, but also in the types. In particular, some early presidents kept some uncommon animals as pets, ranging from silkworms and possums to black bears and hippos, all of which appeared in the White House.
　　The 30th president of the United States, Coolidge, may have the most pets among all presidents. He built a small zoo in the White House. In addition to the traditional pet cats and dogs, he also raised bobcats, donkeys, etc…
　　This hippopotamus named Billy was given to Coolidge by the founder of Flint Tire after it was captured in Liberia. Coolidge later donated the hippopotamus to the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park after failing to domesticate it.
　　There is no reason why anyone should keep a pet, but there is a good reason why President Taft kept cows in the White House: He loves milk.
　　Wilson, who looked extremely thin against Taft, would later become the president of the United States. However, he obviously didn’t catch up with the good times. He caught up with the “World War I” during his tenure. In order to save money, he decided to raise a flock of sheep in the White House. Sheep eat grass, which can replace the staff who cut the grass, not only saving money, but the manpower saved can also be used as soldiers to fight. Not only that, wool can also be used for auction. It is said that wool auctions can get more than 50,000 US dollars a year. In 1927, this group of sheep who supported the U.S. finances went to the newspaper after devoting their lives, which caused quite a stir.
　　American leaders’ favorite pets are dogs. Before Trump, it seemed that the president of the United States kept a dog as an unwritten rule. It was even reported that Trump was the first president in more than 100 years who did not keep a dog in the White House.
　　Why does the president of the United States love dogs so much?

　　In order to make his family look like a normal family, the President of the United States will also keep a dog or two in the White House. Of course, the premise of keeping a dog is that the White House is large and has a yard, so the dog has enough room to move around.
　　It is precisely because of this that it is difficult for the British prime minister who lives in an apartment-like Downing Street to keep a dog, only a cat. The reason is simple: there is nowhere to walk the dog.
　　Of course, there is also an important reason why they keep cats, that is, there are mice in the prime minister’s residence. The rat problem in the Prime Minister’s Office is also an old problem. As early as when Mrs. Thatcher was in power, a cat named Humphrey was raised to catch mice.
　　Unlike the US president’s pet, which belongs to him, the British Prime Minister’s cat belongs to the prime minister’s office. Humphrey remained in the prime minister’s office after Mrs Thatcher left office, and did not “retire” until Blair took office.
　　Today’s “Britain’s No. 1 Meow” Larry officially entered the Prime Minister’s Office in February 2011. Although his ability to catch mice has always been questioned, he has become the most famous Internet celebrity in Downing Street in just a few years. Now Its most important task in the prime minister’s office may be to be cute.
　　Perhaps the greatest significance of pets to leaders is to help them shape their image. President Coolidge, who has the most pets, once said: “People who don’t like dogs are not qualified to live in the White House.”
　　Keeping pets, especially dogs, means a lot in the eyes of Americans: to give people the impression of being close to the people, or to make people I think the president is very caring.
　　Because of this, only three or four of the presidents of the United States have never had pets. Especially in the age of social media, pets are even more important to the president. Trump was criticized by the American media for breaking the practice of American presidents keeping pets in the White House for many years.
　　Pets can add some fun to a politically charged White House. Through them, ordinary people can better understand and get closer to the life of the president. In many cases, pets can play an important and even irreplaceable political role. President Hoover, who was not good at expressing and had no campaign experience back then, took a photo with his pet dog as a promotional photo for the campaign, helping him establish a kind image and successfully entered the White House. When the scandal happened to President Clinton, he also successfully diverted the public’s attention after raising a Labrador named Buddy.