The greatness of a nation

And its moral progress

Can by judged by the way

Its animals are treated.

                                      Gandhi

Even the animals were saddened

By the recent death of our President.

When he lived in the White House,

Their love and admiration they sent.

He was one of the few Presidents

Who shared the White House Estate,

With creatures of all sorts,

From the small to the great.

Even when those advising him

Cursed the squirrels on the grounds,

From Mr. Reagan’s desk, for his friends,

Some acorns could always be found.

Whenever he came back to the White House from Camp David,

President Reagan always brought acorns for the resident squirrels.

Not everyone was delighted by this.

Lots of people considered the White House squirrels to be a menace to the
flowers, the lawns, the trees, and the old putting green.

   *   Dwight Eisenhower had put in the putting green, and he had the
squirrels trapped and removed because he said they were ruining it.

   *   Jimmy Carter also tried to relocate the squirrels because he said

they were damaging the trees.

But Ronald Reagan would always squirrel away acorns that he collected

at Camp David; and he kept gobs of them in his desk drawer.

And the White House squirrels would eagerly gather

outside the Oval Office waiting for yet another Presidential handout.

Some of them would eat the acorns right out of President Reagan’s hand.

   *   George Bush Senior soon scrapped the Reagan Squirrel Policy

and quickly announced that the White House squirrels "were history,"

sending his dog, Millie, to chase them away.

*      Bill Clinton continued the Bush policy.

*     And the current President Bush has allowed his dogs to harass them, too.

Ronald Reagan wasn't an animal rights activist or an environmentalist by any means;

but he was an extremely kind-hearted person.

And while none of us can find solutions to all the problems that beset animals on this planet today, we can all help in small ways by practicing such small acts of kindness.

It sets a truly wonderful example for our children when our Presidents do it.

Mr. Reagan, the animals of the world will miss you, too.