Scatter Brained

02
  Pets Around (and Occasionally 
Out of) This World
RUSSIA (ALSO OUTER SPACE):
 In 1957, a stray dog from 
the streets of Moscow became the fi rst dog in space—proving 
that dogs 
always
 can be tricked into going for a ride, no mat-
ter how far. Th
  e mission also proved that yes, dogs can live in 
space, and yes, dogs can die in space . . . especially when they 
don’t have any food or oxygen. Laika (known to Americans as 
Muttnik) was cremated upon reentry 163 days after launch.
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WASHINGTON, D.C.:
 Th
  e White House saw raccoons roam-
ing the halls under Calvin Coolidge; Teddy Roosevelt’s son’s 
pony took a ride in a White House elevator; Benjamin Harri-
son’s presidential goat, Old Whiskers, escaped and had to be 
chased down Pennsylvania Avenue; and Warren Harding’s 
Airedale terrier sat in on cabinet meetings. Apparently, it’s 
not easy to fi nd human friends when you’re the president. 
Harry Truman summed it up: “If you want to fi nd a friend in 
Washington,” he once said, “get a dog.”
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