Wacky Presidential Pet Relics for Sale (Like a Socks the Cat Doll)

The Presidential Pet Museum is auctioning its collection, which celebrates White House pets with paintings, photos, and kitschy memorabilia.

It all started with the hair of the dog. Ronald Reagan’s dog.

For a brief period in the mid-1980s, Claire McLean was a dog groomer for President Reagan’s Bouvier des Flandres, Lucky. After clipping Lucky’s hair, McLean saved it. Her mother later painted a picture of Lucky using the dog’s real hair.

That painting started McLean’s love affair with presidential pet memorabilia. She began to collect and create other items and, in 1999, she opened the Presidential Pet Museum in a barn in Maryland, about a 30 mile drive from Washington, D.C.

McLean, who is 83, is no longer able to operate her museum, but she’s hoping that someone else is. She and David Baker, who runs the museum’s website,

DON'T MISS THE REST OF THIS STORY!
Create a free account to continue and get unlimited access to hundreds of Nat Geo articles, plus newsletters.

Create your free account to continue reading

No credit card required. Unlimited access to free content.
Or get a Premium Subscription to access the best of Nat Geo - just $19
SUBSCRIBE

Read This Next

Is banning fishing bad for fishermen? Not in this marine reserve
SeaWorld allegedly violated the Animal Welfare Act. Why is it still open?
'World’s worst shipwreck' was bloodier than we thought

Go Further

Subscriber Exclusive Content

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet