The father of our country is also, according to legend, the father of the American Foxhound. George Washington bred his own hounds, and so began a long love affair between U.S. Presidents and their pets.

Here is a list of our presidents and their pets they kept in or at the White House.

This list was compiled by Shine from Yahoo from various sources.

George Washington: Foxhounds & mules

John Adams: a mixed-breed dog named Satan; some sources say his wife Abigail named the pooch

Thomas Jefferson:  Briard dogs, and a mockingbird named Dick

James Madison's wife Dolley: a green parrot

James Monroe: sheepdogs, and a black spaniel that belonged to his granddaughter

John Quincy Adam: received a gift of an alligator, which Adams is said to have kept in a White House bathroom

Andrew Jackson:  pet parrot named Pol, fighting roosters

Martin Van Buren: received two tiger cubs as a present from the Sultan of Oman. Van Buren regifted them to the zoo

William Henry Harrison:  his pets included a goat and a cow

John Tyler: pet canary named "Johnny Ty," after himself, horse named "the General" and his Italian Greyhound "Le Beau," or "the beautiful one"

James K. Polk: Sources report him owning either "a horse" or "horses"

Zachary Taylor: – a horse named Old Whitey. When Taylor died only 16 months into his term, Old Whitey trailed the funeral parade.

Millard Fillmore: some claim he had two ponies named Mason and Dixon

Franklin Pierce: a gift of two dogs from Japan. Others say Pierce had no pets at all – but he did found the Buffalo, NY chapter of the ASPCA.

James Buchanan: a Newfoundland named Lara

Abraham Lincoln:  pet goats Nanny and Nanko, a dog, Jip; kittens given to Lincoln by Secretary of State William Seward; and a turkey named Jack

Andrew Johnson:  said to have fed white mice he found in his bedroom

Ulysses S. Grant:  horses including Butcher Boy, Cincinnatus, Egypt, Jeff Davis  and Jennie, Julia. Grant also had dogs – Rosie, and the Newfoundland named Faithful.

Rutherford B. Hayes: 7 different dog breeds, a goat, a mockingbird, and at least three cats

James Garfield:  a horse named Kit, a fish, and a dog named Veto

Chester Arthur: horses

Grover Cleveland:  mockingbirds and a bulldog named Hector