President Abraham Lincoln Loved Animals

Did you know …

When people asked Mary Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s wife, if the president had any hobbies, she answered, “Cats.” Lincoln enjoyed playing with cats.

Orphaned kittens

Lincoln visited one of his generals, Ulysses S. Grant, in March of 1865. He noticed three stray kittens in the telegraph hut and asked about their mother, who had died. He played with them and didn’t leave until he knew that someone would find them a good home.

White House goats

There were two pet goats, Nanny and Nanko, at the White House where the president lived with his family. His sons, Tad and Willie, often hitched the goats to kitchen chairs and then rode the chairs through the White House.

The goats often got in trouble for chewing up things like flowers and bulbs from the garden.

Lincoln saves the Thanksgiving turkey.

On October 3, 1863, Lincoln set aside the last Thursday of November “as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise.” Tad named their live turkey, Tom, and adopted him as a pet. As Thanksgiving day grew closer, Tad begged his father to save the turkey.

Lincoln issued an order that spared the turkey’s life. It began a tradition that the presidents still follow today. The president “pardons” the Thanksgiving turkey every year.

The family dog, Fido, didn’t go to the White House with the Lincolns.

Fido, a mixed breed with a yellow coat and floppy ears, was the Lincoln’s family pet dog in Springfield. He tagged along with Lincoln as he ran errands in Springfield or took walks.

When Lincoln won the election in 1860, the fireworks and cannons scared Fido. Knowing they had a long, noisy train ride to Washington D.C, the family decided to leave Fido in Springfield. John and Frank Roll were two boys who lived near the Lincolns. These boys promised to care for Fido while the Lincolns lived at the White House.

Before they left, they gave the Rolls family their sofa to make Fido feel at home.

 

– Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

“Gettysburg: An animal-lover’s tour of the battlefield,” Evening Sun, 2014/11/10 http://www.eveningsun.com/gettysburg150/ci_23555931/gettysburg-an-animal-lovers-tour-battlefield.

“Lincoln Pets,” National Park Service, 2014/11/11 http://www.nps.gov/abli/planyourvisit/lincoln-pets.htm.