Owings Mills Man to Curate Presidential Pet Museum

A unique aspect of American History, The Presidential Pet Museum, is ready to be revitalized. I am Bill Helman, urban musher and all-around animal ambassador, known as WooFDriver by fans of my dog adventuring lifestyle, and the new curator of the museum.

Founded in 1999 by Claire McClean, former groomer for President Reagan’s dog, Lucky, the museum collection has been in storage since 2005 when it was last exhibited at the now defunct President’s Park, an open-air park that honored the American presidents.

I believe my love of animals and American history make me uniquely qualified to act as the new curator of the museum. It's the intersection of these interests that inspired me to save it.

In it’s heyday, the Presidential Pet Museum attracted busloads of tourists. My goal is to find a permanent home for the collection so the artifacts can be displayed for the public once again. I am looking into temporary exhibition spaces at local museums and libraries, and even considering making the museum mobile so it can visit schools. In the meantime, the Presidential Pet Museum continues to maintain a website, active since the museums inception, full of interesting stories and information about this unique aspect of our nation’s history. There you can learn about the presidential pets and see some of the artifacts. You can visit the Presidential Pet Museum online here.

Animals play a vital role in people’s lives, and the presidential pets are no different. What national secrets were the presidents’ dogs, cats, rams, and even elephants privy to? Calvin Coolidge once famously stated, “Any man who does not like dogs and want them about does not deserve to be in the White House.”

I am excited to be a part of this fun and interesting aspect of history and hope to make the artifacts public again soon! I'm honored to have the chance, and hope you will check it out online. Just in time for President's Day!