Mark and I were watching a history program on the White House staff. Pets are part of the duties of the staff. We looked up a list of pets for the presidents and discovered that the people who have called the White House home have kept everything from the common (cats, dogs and horses) to the rather odd or exotic (silkworms and a pygmy hippo). Presidents who had children with them in the residence generally had more pets. How much do pets influence the public opinion of a President. It's my personal opinion that Americans, roughly 60% of whom have some pet, feel more a connection with someone who does likewise. If we are a pet owner, do you think we are less likely to trust a person who does not have a pet?