That’s right. Two presidents, Warren G. Harding and Harry S. Truman, kept squirrels for pets and they both named them Pete.
Harry S. Truman’s Pete the Squirrel
Pete, a grey squirrel, accompanied President Truman on many of his walks on the White House grounds. You can buy a stuffed-animal version of Pete.
Warren G. Harding’s Pete the Squirrel
That’s not Warren G. Harding feeding Pete. It’s the Secretary of the Navy. When Warren G. Harding died suddenly in office, newspaper boys collected 19,134 pennies to be melted and made into a statue of his dog, Laddie Boy. They could have collected a lot fewer pennies to make a statue of Pete!