{"id":500,"date":"2012-11-14T23:17:00","date_gmt":"2012-11-15T04:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jenniferpickens.com\/blog\/?p=500"},"modified":"2018-04-16T13:22:19","modified_gmt":"2018-04-16T18:22:19","slug":"southern-living-on-pets-at-the-white-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jenniferpickens.com\/blog\/southern-living-on-pets-at-the-white-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Southern Living on “Pets at the White House”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Southern<\/a><\/div>\n
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White House Pets Live In Style \u2014 Vote for Your\u00a0Favorite!<\/a><\/h2>\n
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November 6, 2012 | By Zo\u00eb Gowen<\/a> | Comments (4)<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Red elephant? Or blue donkey? Who could choose between two animals? We can\u2019t. So on Election Day 2012, we\u2019re leaving electoral votes and margin of error reporting to CNN. Instead, we chatted with Dallas-native and White House style expert, Jennifer Pickens<\/a>. Fresh from the success of her first book, Christmas at the the White House<\/em><\/a>, she just published her second book,\u00a0Pets and the White House<\/a>.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Through years of research, Jennifer found over\u00a0200 insightful photos (most have never been published before) of The First Families and their four-legged companions. Jennifer\u2019s story gives unexpectedly endearing glimpses into daily life at The White House. Scroll down to see some of our favorite images from the book and Jennifer\u2019s predictions for the next First Pet.<\/p>\n

\"Grace<\/a><\/div>\n
Photo Courtesy of Pets At The White House<\/em> \u00a9 2012<\/div>\n

Most unusual pet in residence:<\/strong>\u00a0Grace Coolidge (above)\u00a0cuddles with her pet raccoon. The Coolidges kept their raccoons, Rebecca and Ruben, on leashes and would often walk them.<\/p>\n

\"FDR<\/a><\/div>\n
Photo Courtesy of Pets At The White House<\/em> \u00a9 2012<\/div>\n

Best Stress Reliever:\u00a0<\/strong>October 24, 1944, FDR (above) takes time away from World War II strategizing and negotiations to enjoy a ride in his convertible with his Scottish Terrier, Fala.<\/p>\n

\"LBJ<\/a><\/div>\n
Photo Courtesy of Pets At The White House<\/em> \u00a9 2012<\/div>\n

Only in America:\u00a0<\/strong>LBJ kicks back with his grandson Lyndon Nugent and his beloved mutt Yuki (above). LBJ rescued Yuki from a gas station in his hometown, Johnson City, Texas. Despite having several other dogs including a pair of beagles named His and Hers, Yuki was LBJ\u2019s favorite. Lyndon Nugent said, \u201cLBJ and Yuki shared a significant bond that personified the American spirit: only in America could a poor boy from Johnson City end up in the White House.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Fords<\/a><\/div>\n
Photo Courtesy of Pets At The White House<\/em> \u00a9 2012<\/div>\n

Even Mr. President cleans up after his dog:\u00a0<\/strong>President Ford and his family (above) pose with the puppies from their beloved Golden Retriever, Liberty. Renown for treating everyone with equal dignity and respect, President Ford once stopped a Navy steward from after Liberty soiled the Oval Office carpet stating, \u201cI\u2019ll do that. No man should have to clean up after another man\u2019s dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/div>\n
Photo Courtesy of Pets At The White House<\/em> \u00a9 2012<\/div>\n

Best excuse to get a hug: <\/strong>Even though there are steps right there,\u00a0President Reagan insists on helping\u00a0Nancy dismount her horse (above) after a day of riding at Camp David.<\/p>\n

\"Barbara<\/a><\/div>\n
Photo Courtesy of Pets At The White House<\/em> \u00a9 2012<\/div>\n

The most pedigreed of all:\u00a0<\/strong>Millie and Barbara Bush (above) visit together before a State Dinner. Executive White House pastry chef, Roland\u00a0Mesnier, says, \u201cMillie was the only truly presidential dog. She was presidential to the core.\u201d When Mrs. Bush sat down, so would Millie. When Mrs. Bush got up, Millie would follow. And, Mesnier claims, \u201cShe never barked!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"George<\/a><\/div>\n
Photo Courtesy of Pets At The White House<\/em> \u00a9 2012<\/div>\n

Best walk to work:\u00a0<\/strong>George Bush\u2019s canine companions, Barney and Mrs. Beazley (Scottish terriers) see the President off to the Oval Office in 2008.<\/p>\n

\"Bo<\/a><\/div>\n
Photo Courtesy of Pets At The White House<\/em> \u00a9 2012<\/div>\n

Ready for lift-off:<\/strong> Bo Obama (above), a Portuguese Water dog chosen by the Obamas for being hypoallergenic, poses for a portrait with Air Force One in the background.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Election 2012 Pet Predictions:<\/strong> \u00a0If Romney wins, Jennifer thinks a sporting dog will run the White House. Mitt and Anne have had Irish Setters in the past. If Obama stays in office, life for Bo will stay status quo. Michelle Obama has already said, \u201cBo does not need a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

White House Pets Live In Style \u2014 Vote for Your\u00a0Favorite! November 6, 2012 | By Zo\u00eb Gowen | Comments (4) Red elephant? Or blue donkey? Who could choose between two animals? We can\u2019t. So on Election Day 2012, we\u2019re leaving electoral votes and margin of error reporting to CNN. Instead, we chatted with Dallas-native and… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-white-house-wednesdays"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jenniferpickens.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jenniferpickens.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jenniferpickens.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jenniferpickens.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jenniferpickens.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.jenniferpickens.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":516,"href":"https:\/\/www.jenniferpickens.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500\/revisions\/516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jenniferpickens.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jenniferpickens.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jenniferpickens.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}