Pushinka

Pushinka, also known as Fluffy, was a dog given by the Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, in 1961. Pushinka was the daughter of Strelka, who had travelled into space aboard Korabl-Sputnik 2. Pushinka arrived at the Kennedy White House after Jacqueline Kennedy had spoken to Khrushchev about Strelka at a state dinner in Vienna. Mrs. Kennedy asked about Strelka's puppies, and one was subsequently sent by Khrushchev to the White House. Pushinka was examined by the Central Intelligence Agency at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center over fears that she might be concealing an implanted listening device. Pushinka was x-rayed, screened with a magnetometer, and inspected by sonogram. She was found to be free of subversive devices. The White House electrician and kennel manager, Traphes Bryant, trained Pushinka with peanuts to climb up a ladder to Caroline Kennedy's playhouse and slide down the other side. After John F. Kennedy's death, Jacqueline Kennedy gave Pushinka to White House Gardener Irvin Williams.