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At a political fund-raiser this year in Kansas City, Mo., Bush called Barney — a gift from Christine Todd Whitman, the Environmental Protection Agency and former New Jersey governor — "a fabulous little guy." He even referred to the terrier as "the son I never had."

Spot, the elder First Pet, is of presidential lineage — just like her master. She is the daughter of Millie Bush, whose dog-eyed account of White House life, Millie's Book (as told to then-first lady Barbara Bush) became a best seller, raising nearly $1 million for literacy programs and outselling the elder President Bush's memoirs.

At the height of her fame, Millie graced the cover of Life magazine, and George Bush père had a dog biscuit dispenser shaped like a gumball machine at Camp David.

But life in the White House is not all caviar and kibble. Like any savvy politician, you have to watch your tail. The late Mama Millie could have told Spot that. Washingtonian magazine once voted Millie the "Ugliest Dog" in the capital.

Grizzlies and Gators in the White House Menagerie

Of America's 43 presidents, only Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce and Chester Arthur failed to provide the White House with animal occupants, making it a near-requirement for aspiring commanders in chief.

Some 400 beasts have occupied the White House, and some of the earlier presidents had a passion for the exotic, according to Carl Anthony, author of America's First Families (Touchstone). Thomas Jefferson kept grizzly bears in a cage in his garden. John Quincy Adams let his alligator reside in a White House bathtub. And Calvin Coolidge had a virtual menagerie that included a bobcat, two raccoons, a donkey and a wallaby.

Harry Truman once said, "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." But it's more than a matter of canine companionship. If you want to sit in the Oval Office, you really need a pet.

Problem is, sometimes the first pet has become something of a political liability.

Theodore Roosevelt's bull terrier, Pete, caused a wee bit of an international scandal when he tore a leg off the French ambassador's trousers during a White House function, according to Roy Rowan, author of First Dogs (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill).