It is reported that William McKinley had a parrot, roosters and cats as pets while in the White House, but no dogs. In fact, only one photo seems to exist of the President with a dog - a dog he didn't even know.
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| President McKinley (2nd on the right) and the black dog next to the man on the left. |
The above photo was taken just hours before William McKinley was shot at the Pan American Exposition (World's Fair) in Buffalo, New York on September 6, 1901. Nobody knew who the black dog was that hung around with the men while they viewed Niagara Falls, but after McKinley died eight days after the shooting, the dog was regarded by the press as having been a bad omen.