“Any man who does not like
dogs and want them about,
does not deserve to be
in the White House.”
‘Calvin and Grace Coolidge certainly lived up to those words—and more. Before, during, and after their White House years, the Coolidges kept a dizzying array of pets. From cats and dogs, canaries and mockingbirds, to
wombats and raccoons, the Coolidges surrounded themselves with four- footed or feathered creatures.’
~from Wombats and Such by David Pietrusza
Source The Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation:
“Tiny Tim the chow – Mr. Coolidge and I shared the same birthday- the 4th of July! I was a red chow-chow, and another favorite of Mrs. Coolidge. Mr. Coolidge and I did not get along, and I quickly became known as Terrible Tim.”
Source: The Calvin Coolidge Presidental Foundation
Blackberry the Chow – “Although the Coolidges had Tiny Tim and Calamity Jane, I entered the Coolidge’s life during the family trip to the Black Hills. I was a beautiful, well-bred black chow-chow. Even my mouth was black! I did not end up stay long with Mr. and Mrs. Coolidge, as I became a gift from John Coolidge to his “Certain Young Lady”.
Focusing on Grace Coolidge’s well publicized love for her animals, including Rob Roy the white collie, these letters, written to the breeder who sold Blackberry to Grace Coolidge, offer a fine glimpse into the heart of an animal lover and her devotion to her pets. I would have loved to have known this fascinating woman in person! These letters were sold at auction for an unknown sum.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST…INCREDIBLE AND EXTREMELY RARE FOOTAGE OF THE COOLIDGES WITH TWO CHOWS
TINY TIM (the dark red dog) AND A YOUNG CHOW PUPPY IN OUTAKES FROM A 20TH CENTURY FOX NEWSREEL
These 2 amazing photos below I found in the New York Public Library. They coincide with the time frame of the video above after Calvin Coolidge and Grace moved from the Whitehouse , into their private home in Northampton, MA. The chow is most likely the deep red dog Tiny Tim as Blackberry was given to the Coolidge son’s fiance in 1928.
Dear Chowtales,
I have two minor corrections to offer for your delightful page here: 1. In the caption of the photo from the Mary Counihan collection you identify the couple standing with the Coolidges as the Hoovers. They were actually Mr. Howard and Mrs. Matilda Coffin of Sapelo Island, Georgia, meeting the President and First Lady at the Sea Island Yacht Club in December 1928. 2. Wasn’t this after giving Blackberry away to Miss Trumbull? Did Grace get the chow back and take her with them or is this another chow – Tim, perhaps? Thank you for putting this great feature of their chows together. Write more, if you can!
Hello Daniel, thank you so much for your very helpful information. The information I post is always from what I find in my research and so many times facts and dates associated with photos etc. are not correct on my finds, so I’m grateful for these corrections. I will make those changes and am so happy to now have a date to go with that photo which should help determine which dog they were holding. Yay!! Thank you.
Success motivational short inspirational quotes.