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Presidential pets: JFK's canine détente

All the presidents' pets: JFK's canine détente
All the presidents' pets: JFK's canine détente 02:34

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.

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In 1961, during the Cold War, Charlie, the Welsh terrier of the Kennedy family, and Pushinka, a gift from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, became an item.  Alamy

"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.

     
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Story produced by Amiel Weisfogel. Editor: Carol Ross. 

    
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