First Pets: Four-Legged or Feathered Friends of President Benjamin Harrison

A president with opossums? While Benjamin Harrison may not be a common household name when it comes to past presidents, his interesting family pets while in office surely made a splash.

Here's a look at Harrison's presidency and some of his pets.

Benjamin Harrison was the 24th president of the U.S. and was also the grandson of William Henry Harrison, who was the ninth president of the U.S. While his presidency was not plagued by a depression or known for any immense accomplishments, Harrison paved the way for future economic policy that would change our country, including the proposal to annex Hawaii, signing the bill to expand the U.S. Naval Forces, working to support tariffs which would later lead to many economic blunders for the U.S., as well as being responsible for the first billion dollar appropriation by Congress, the White House Historical Association noted.

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Harrison may have lost support by his fellow Republicans during the last part of his term, however, one part of the Harrison household was and still is very popular and that is his notable dog, Dash.

Harrison was born on Aug. 20, 1833, in North Bend, Ohio. He graduated from Miami University in 1852 and went on to marry his first wife, Caroline, on Oct., 20 1853. The Harrisons went on to have two children Mary Scott and Russell Benjamin.

The family owned several pets while they spent their time in the White House, according to the Presidential Pet Museum. While Harrison was not overly attentive to his animals, the family as a whole was very in love with their animals. Dash, who was a collie mix and was the only dog of the families who actually had his own doghouse built on the white house grounds. The other dog was named Jack, although not much information is available about him, DoggyBuddy.com noted.

Harrison was not the kind to get down and play with his dogs because he thought it would make him look weak to his counterparts and opponents. His wife and the kids were very active in spending time with the animals. Quite possibly the strangest pet of any president, Harrison went on to buy opossums as gifts for his grandchildren.

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