Calvin Coolidge’s Raccoon
Roosevelt had his own zoo, but Calvin Coolidge also kept quite a lot of different animals at the White House. He didn’t go as far as getting hyenas and zebras, but he did have a bobcat, a hippo, a bear, a wallaby, and a raccoon.
Photo by Herbert French/PhotoQuest/Getty Images
The raccoon was given special pride of place as the personal pet of Coolidge’s wife, Grace. She kept it on a leash and walked it around the White House. Interestingly, the family had originally been sent the raccoon to eat, but they saw how tame and friendly it was, so decided to let it live with them instead.