Special Sub-Topic: Pets of the Rich and Famous Click Here To Play: Pets of the Rich and Famous

Queen Elizabeth II of England is known for her love of corgis. Which 18th century king was known for his love of greyhounds?

Frederick II of Prussia. Frederick II, also known as Frederick the Great, kept dozens of greyhounds at his summer castle of Sans Souci. He had eleven white marble tombs erected for his favourites and wanted to be buried with them, as well as with a favourite horse. Frederick is reported to have addressed his dogs much more politely than his servants.

Which famous novelist had pets by the names of Apollinaris, Beelzebub, Blatherskite and Zoroaster?

Mark Twain. After reading "Tom Sawyer" one might think Twain only had use for dead cats, but in reality he loved cats and shared his house with many of them. He said: "If man could be crossed with the cat, it would improve the man but deteriorate the cat." He deliberately chose unusual names to teach his children to pronounce difficult words. Twain also loved dogs and said about them: "Heaven goes by favour. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in."

Who was the first US president to bring a cat to live in the White House?

Abraham Lincoln. All of these presidents were cat lovers, but Lincoln was the first to bring a cat (actually three kittens) to live at the White House. They shared the residence with two goats who had to live at the White House because they were chewing up the flowers in the garden.

This famous woman shared her home with 60 Persian cats (among them Bismarck and Disraeli).

Florence Nightingale. She also carried a pet owl around in her pocket.

Which famous scientist is credited with inventing the cat door?

Newton & Isaac Newton. Apparently he did so at his house in Woolsthorpe, for the convenience of his pet cats.

This poet owned a succession of Great Danes, all with the same name "Bounce". He also included them in his poetry.

Alexander Pope. "Bounce to Fop. An Heroick Epistle from a Dog at Twickenham to a Dog at Court", a satirical condemnation of the nobility, was written in 1763.

True or false: Sigmund Freud used his chow Jo-Fi in psychotherapy.

t. The dog was always in the room with Freud during his analysis sessions. If a patient was calm, Jo-Fi would lie close, but when the patient was tense, the dog would settle down in the far corner of the room. Freud also believed the dog's presence helped patients calm down. In addition the chow served as an unobtrusive alarm clock: at the end of each session, he would stand up and stretch.

"Snoopy", the famous cartoon dog, was based on a dog Charles M. Schultz owned when he was a child. What was the dog's name?

Spike. Spike was given to the family in 1934, when Charles was 12. His first published drawing in 1937 featured Spike as a dog who ate razor blades, nails, balls and other strange items. In 1975, 25 years after "Peanuts" first appeared, Schultz introduced a dog with the name of Spike, Snoopy's long lost brother.

True or false: Beatrix Potter creations "Peter Rabbit" and "Benjamin Bunny" are based on pets she used to own.

t. Beatrix Potter had two rabbits she used to walk on a leash, named Peter Piper and Benjamin Bouncer. She also kept dogs, cats, frogs, lizards, pigs, and hedgehogs. She started this menagerie as a child, and every summer, when the family went to Scotland, all the animals were stowed in boxes and travelled along.

George Bernard Shaw was not overly fond of pets. What kind of animal did he - briefly - own, after it had been given to him by a friend?

Bird. His reply to his friend Francis Collison was: "I am a vegetarian, and can't eat it...". He finally gave it to the gardener's wife, because "...I shall then hear it only when I walk in the garden, and at every trill I shall curse the name of F. Collison."