Presidential pets: JFK's canine détente
When the Kennedy family moved into the White House, they brought with them youth, an abundance of charm, and plenty of pets.
"They've got multiple dogs; they've got Tom Kitten, the cat; parakeets named Bluebell and Maybelle," recounted Alan Price, director of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. He said Americans were instantly taken by the family's four-legged members.
"How many American kids wanted a pony after seeing Caroline with Macaroni?" asked correspondent Mo Rocca.
"Everybody wants a pony after that!"
But it was a gift from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev – a glamorous dog named Pushinka – that set tongues wagging. Arriving with her own passport, Pushinka was the offspring of Soviet space dogs.
"Is she fluffy?" asked Rocca.
Said Price, "She is definitely a fluffy dog."
"Does she have a sense of humor?" asked Rocca. "She's from the Soviet Union."
"I don't know, I don't think we have that recorded as well as we might," Price laughed.
She was fetching enough to catch the eye of Charlie, the Kennedys' ruggishly handsome Welsh terrier.
"They had four beautiful puppies together, and life is good!" Price said.
The President dubbed the offspring "Pupniks" – and to some, this furry First Family melted hearts during a particularly frosty period.
Rocca asked, "Do you think that that helped sort of thaw the cold at a very tense time?"
"It is a very tense time," Price replied. "And that human connection, it's tangible, it's real."
And it's part of a presidential story that captured our collective imagination.
"When President Kennedy is assassinated, these pets become a big part of the memories that America holds of a time that ends so abruptly," said Price.
For more info:
- John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
- Pets in the Kennedy White House (jfklibrary.org)
Story produced by Amiel Weisfogel. Editor: Carol Ross.
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