Washington Was Really Into His Animals
In addition to being the country's first president, George Washington was also its first mules breeder. After receiving a Spanish jack as a gift from King Charles III of Spain in 1784, he started breeding mules after realizing the usefulness of the mule for farmers (mules are a cross between a horse and a donkey). He thought that well bred mules will revolutionize agriculture and transportation at a period when there weren't many mules in the United States.
He also bred other animals besides mules. At Mount Vernon, Washington kept a variety of dog breeds, including mastiffs, Dalmatians, English foxhounds, French hounds, Italian greyhounds, pointers, spaniels, and terriers. He was a major dog enthusiast who throughout the years carefully bred hunting dogs for speed, selectively giving them names like Sweet Lips, Venus, Trulove, Taster, Tippler, Drunkard, and Madame Moose.
And pets were not restricted to dogs at Mount Vernon. Over the years, the Washington family also kept a variety of pet birds, including canaries, green parrots, and a cockatoo. There is evidence that they may have also kept goldfish. George Washington maintained an English and American deer park in front of the mansion for a lot of years. Some of them were allegedly so docile that they would eat straight from human hands.
