9/16/20

Caruso: A Pet Better Than Cows


Caruso was given to Helen, the daughter of William Taft (the 27th president of the US), because the White House cows weren't particularly fun pets.


Helen Taft holding Caruso, and President Taft

President Taft had a couple of pet cows named Pauline Wayne (or "Miss Wayne") and Mooly Wooly - the last cows at the White House. When Enrico Caruso (the famous Italian operatic tenor) performed for the Tafts, he gave the President's daughter Helen a little dog, thinking this would be a more appropriate pet for a young lady. Helen happily accepted the dog and named him Caruso. According to Mo Rocca in All the President’s Pets: The Story of One Reporter Who Refused to Roll Over, Caruso had a bark that was "like a high pitch tenor" and "howled La Traviata."