President John Tyler took over the Presidency upon the unexpected death of President William Henry Harrison. Like preceding Presidents, John and his wife Julia had pets during the Presidency, including a pair of Irish wolfhounds.
Irish Wolfhounds are huge dogs, standing at a minimum of 30 inches and clocking in at roughly 105-120 pounds. Luckily for the Tylers (and the White House staff) these dogs are “gentle giants” and generally non-aggressive.
The Tylers’ wolfhounds had to be imported from Ireland, and were a gift from John to his wife Julia. They must have been a quiet pair, as they received little lasting attention from the media or historians. Which is good for the Tylers, but makes it impossible to locate much information about them.
