President Teddy Roosevelt was known to have owned many dogs (and even had a breed named for him), and they included a Saint  Bernard named “Rollo,” “Sailor Boy,” a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, “Pete,” a Bull Terrier infamous for having ripped the trousers of the French ambassador, and by virtue of parenthood, his son’s Manchester Terrier named “Blackjack, and a Pekingese presented to his daughter, Alice, by the Empress Dowager Cixi.

One doesn’t hear much about another dog of Roosevelt’s, a Pomeranian named “Gem.” Little is known about Gem beyond what is written in a letter to Roosevelt’s son, Kermit.  Gem ultimately ended up with a family member as a present since Roosevelt was so busy. Roosevelt wrote:  “Mother is going to present Gem to Uncle Will. Gem is really a very nice small bow-wow, but Mother found that in this case possession was less attractive than pursuit. When she takes him out walking he carries her along as if she was a Roman chariot. She thinks that Uncle Will or Eda can anchor him.”

Until Gem went to his new home, Roosevelt is said to have carried along his “nice small bow-bow” while he walked around.

The image shared here was taken in the middle of Roosevelt’s term, around 1906, and was taken of Chow Chow and Pomeranian judging at the Mineola Dog Show in New York. Courtesy of the AKC