![]() ![]() He had been invited to the Eisenhower White House following a chance encounter with the first lady. ![]() ![]() Landau's dog tale begins in 1958, at age 10. Among the presidential-pooch memorabilia in his Manhattan apartment are matching orange inaugural dog coats worn by LBJ's twin beagles, Him and Her, and a photo of Landau kissing Clipper, JFK's German shepherd. He's known about 25 White House dogs since the Eisenhower administration. It's something people can relate to."Īnd Landau has related to the best of them. "Having a dog just humanizes a president," he says. It's one that Landau feels is invaluable to a presidency. Not surprisingly it was a happy week for Landau when the Obama family's new dog, Bo, joined a White House tradition that dates to George Washington. Logistics got in the way, though, and hence Clinton secretary Betty Currie's apologetic voice mail left at the Smithsonian Institution, where Landau was doing research: "I'm sorry, but we'll have to reschedule Mr. But so enamored is he of dogs, and so well-connected to a succession of presidents, that he had an appointment for a South Lawn romp one day with Buddy, Bill Clinton's Labrador retriever. Yes, Landau is both human and an adult - a 60-year-old author, presidential historian, former White House protocol officer and memorabilia collector. ![]()
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