Old Whiskers Escapes!: A True White House Tale

Old Whiskers’ Escape tells the true story of President Benjamin Harrison’s pet goat that lived on the White House grounds. The goat often was spotted taking the president’s grandchildren on wagon rides on the lawn but one day escaped with Grandson Baby McKee in tow. President Harrison, upon discovering the goat was missing, went running down Pennsylvania Avenue in hot pursuit, his top hat in one hand and cane in the other. The story, delightful in its own right, will offer readers surprising insight into Indiana’s only president, the popularity of presidential pets at the White House during the 19th Century, and the enduring relationships between grandparents and their grandchildren—regardless of grandpa’s station in life.