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Nothing says National Dog Day quite like these presidential pups
“If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog!” former President Harry Truman once said.
A handout image released by the White House shows Bo (L) with new friend Sunny (R) the Obama family dogs, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 19, 2013.EPA
By
Joseph Neese and
Olivia Kestin
Did you know? George Washington is considered the “father of the American foxhound,” and he bred more than 30 of his favorite type of canine. Richard Nixon saved his political career by delivering an impassioned address about his Cocker Spaniel named Checkers. And when Chelsea Clinton left home for college, her mom Hillary gifted her then-presidential father Bill with a chocolate Lab named Buddy to provide solace.
“If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog!” former President Harry Truman famously said. Through 44 presidential administrations, this saying has rung true, and it has special resonance on Aug. 26 — National Dog Day.
Now in its 11th year, the special day commends the hard work of those dogs warming homes like the White House — where a pup known as “Feller” once provided comfort and companionship to Truman — while at the same time shining a light upon the vast number of canines still in need of being rescued.
In this March 15, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama pets the family dog Bo, a Portuguese water dog, outside the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C.APPresident Lyndon Johnson lets his beagle Him peer from open window as the president toured the Johnson City area, Nov. 2, 1965. ASSOCIATED PRESSRichard M. Nixon fondled family’s black and white cocker spaniel “Checkers” at his home in Washington on September 28, 1952.President Franklin D. Roosevelt lifts his dog Fala as he prepares to motor from his special train to the Yacht Potomac at New London, Conn., Aug. 3, 1941. APPresident Bill Clinton is greeted by his dog Buddy as he returns to the White House Wednesday morning, Aug. 12, 1998.ASSOCIATED PRESSPresident Ronald Reagan is pulled along by his pet dog Lucky while he and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher take a stroll in the White House Rose Garden on Feb. 20, 1985 in Washington, D.C.APPresident Gerald R . Ford often sits with his dog Liberty in the Oval Office. ASSOCIATED PRESSPresident George W. Bush walks off Air Force One carrying the family pets Barney (R) and Ms. Beazley as he arrives at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Aug. 13, 2006.AFP/Getty Images
