George Washington
George Washington was a first for a couple of things. He was the first president. He was the first president to have a dog. It is said that Washington’s love of dogs came from fox hunting. This caused him to start breeding his own dog. He wanted a faster dog. One of his friends heard about how Washington wanted to breed his hounds with something faster. So, Washington’s friend sent him some French hounds. Washington started to breed his own dogs with the French hounds. George Washington didn’t mean to leave a legacy with the new breed. He wanted to improve his collection of hunting dogs. He had several different breeds. He had Dalmatians, Italian Greyhounds, mastiffs, and many more. These dogs would have different tasks to do, like herding, working, and toy dogs. George Washington put his dogs to work, but this doesn’t mean that he didn’t love them any less. He names all his dogs, like Sweet Lips, Tipsy, and Tipler. He would go visit his dogs in the kennels every day. Georges Washington made sure that his dogs got the love and attention that they needed.
Resources:
https://www.history.com/news/george-washington-dogs
Joe Biden
Our recent elected president has brought back the tradition of having dogs in the white house. President Biden brought in two dogs. They are both German shepherds, named Major and Champ. Champ is a 12-year-old dog that has been in the white house before. This happened when Biden was the Vice President of the United States. But Major (2 years old) has never been in the White House before. His story is a little special. Major is the first rescue dog to live in the White House. This news blew up. Delaware Humane Association (the place that Major came from) held a virtual event for Major. Americans are excited to see Champ and Major live in the White House. They are the first dogs that have been in the White House, since Obama’s presidency.
Resources:
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a34680434/joe-biden-dogs/