Presidents get the headlines, but some of the most beloved residents of the White House have four legs and a wagging tail. First Dogs have romped on the South Lawn, starred in videos, and even swayed elections. So which ones stayed the longest?
Pinning down a single champion is tricky, because it depends on exact move-in and move-out dates that aren't always well recorded. But a few dogs clearly lived through nearly a full two-term presidency. Barack Obama's Portuguese water dog Bo moved in during April 2009 and stayed through the Obama years, which ended in 2017. George W. Bush's Scottish terrier Barney was a fixture of the Bush White House, still starring in its videos at the end of Bush's second term.
Bo: The Dog Who Came With a Promise
The Obamas' search for a dog made big news. Elder daughter Malia had allergies, so the family needed a hypoallergenic breed. Senator Ted Kennedy gave them a six-month-old Portuguese water dog, and Bo officially moved into the White House on April 14, 2009.
He was an instant celebrity. The White House even released a baseball card for Bo, listing tomatoes as his favorite food. When asked whether Bo would be allowed in the Oval Office, Obama said, "Of course," and nodded to Harry Truman's famous line: "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." In 2013, a second Portuguese water dog named Sunny joined the family.
Barney: Star of the Small Screen
Barney, born in September 2000, was often called the "First Dog" during the Bush years. He had his own official web page and starred in eleven White House film productions known as Barney Cam. The last one was a 2008 Christmas video, made in the final weeks of Bush's second term.
He wasn't always a perfect gentleman. In 2008, he bit a reporter's finger. Russian president Vladimir Putin also reportedly teased that his own Labrador was "bigger, tougher, stronger, faster, meaner" than Barney.
Fala: The Most Famous Scottie of All
Franklin D. Roosevelt served longer than any other president, but his beloved Scottish terrier Fala arrived partway through. Fala moved into the White House on November 10, 1940, and stayed until Roosevelt's death in April 1945.
Fala made history anyway. In 1944, Republicans accused Roosevelt of leaving Fala behind in the Aleutian Islands and sending a Navy destroyer to fetch him at great cost. In a speech broadcast nationwide, Roosevelt joked that his Scottish dog was so upset by the charges that they "made his little soul furious." The idea to turn it into a joke came from actor Orson Welles, and the "Fala speech" reportedly helped Roosevelt win reelection.
Today, a statue of Fala sits beside Roosevelt at the FDR Memorial in Washington, D.C. He's the only presidential pet honored that way.
A Long Line of First Pets
Most presidents have had pets. The first White House dog to get regular newspaper coverage was Warren G. Harding's Laddie Boy. Only three presidents, James K. Polk, Andrew Johnson, and Donald Trump, had no pets while in office, though Johnson reportedly looked after some mice he found in his bedroom.
Whether they stayed four years or eight, these dogs gave presidents something no adviser could: unconditional loyalty. As Truman put it, in Washington, that's worth a lot.
