#first pets

[deadpresidents]

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, speaking to the Teamsters Union on September 23, 1944 while campaigning for his unprecendented fourth term in the White House, and responding to baseless claims from Republican opponents that he had wasted taxpayers' money by sending a U.S. Navy destroyer to pick up his dog, Fala, after allegedly leaving the dog behind during a visit to Alaska,

According to FDR, Fala's "Scotch soul was furious" over the allegations and the President added that "I am accustomed to hearing malicious falsehoods about myself...but I think I have a right to resent -- to object -- to libelous statements about my dog."

FDR, of course, went on to defeat Republican Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York on Election Day in 1944, but died just 82 days into his fourth term. Fala died in 1952 and was buried near President Roosevelt in Hyde Park, New York. And while Fala was understandably "furious" about having his name dragged through the mud by Republicans during the 1944 campaign (despite being a very good boy), he got the last laugh because he was immortalized with a statue alongside FDR at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C.

[contemplatingoutlander]

Awww! We’re going to have dogs in the White House! 🐕 ❤️️ 🏛 🎄

All is right with the world!

[cuebooks]

I love this Inauguration Day but you know what I also love?

We will finally have First Pets in the White House again!

Look at them! So cute!

[cyberqueen-13]

[deadpresidents]

"I have a great [Vladimir] Putin story for you. I introduced Putin to Barney, my little Scottish terrier, and Putin dissed him. This is the stage where Putin looked like he was in Lethal Force 2; he had the black body shirt on. It kind of hurt my feelings, but I didn't let him know. So a year later we're at his dacha in Moscow. This is before he had discarded his wife of many years, Lyudmilla, for a water gymnast who was like 30 years younger than he is. And he said, 'Would you like to meet my dog?' I said yes. I'd forgotten about the Barney diss. And out bounds this huge Russian hound, loping across the birch-lined yard, and Putin looked at me and said 'Bigger, stronger, and faster than Barney.'

I told that to Canadian Prime Minister [Stephen] Harper. You may think he's kind of a droll guy, but he's not. He said, 'At least he only showed you his dog.' At any rate, the guy's got a huge chip on his shoulder. 'My dog's bigger than your dog' -- please.

And so you've got to ask why. The demise of the Soviet Union, in Putin's mind, diminished Russia in the eyes of history. What you're watching [in Ukraine] is him trying to reinstate Russian glory -- not Stalinist glory but Russian glory. And he's lost his balance. The guy needs to be stopped,, and the United States needs to hang with [Volodymyr] Zelensky no matter how tough it gets, because if we can't support a young democracy under attack by an autocrat, then we have a problem as a nation knowing what we're all about."

-- Former President George W. Bush, during an interview by David M. Rubenstein, September 19, 2023.

[deadpresidents]

Hello!

Maybe to get our minds off this mess, do you have any fun pictures or lesser-known stories about the White House Pets and First Dogs (or Second Dogs. Champ FTW)?

Thank you!

I'm a big fan of President Ford's golden retriever, Liberty.

Here's an excerpt from a page about Liberty on the White House Historical Association's website, which tells you a lot about her and President Ford:

"Liberty quickly settled into life at the White House. She was often photographed outside, enjoying the South Lawn on sunny days. Liberty also enjoyed swimming in the pool at Camp David. At times, President Ford, allegedly used Liberty as a diversionary tactic in the Oval Office. When he wanted a meeting to end, he would signal to Liberty, who wagged her tail enthusiastically at the guest. This created a conversational break so the President could stand up, indicating the meeting had come to its conclusion. Liberty was part of the family at the White House, with President Ford frequently assisting with her care. At Ford's funeral in 2007, former White House Press Secretary David Nessen recalled that one day, Liberty 'made a mess' on the carpet in the Oval Office. A Navy steward started to clean it up, but President Ford stopped him, remarking that, 'no man should have to clean up after another man's dog.'"

That leads to a classic story about President Ford and a very pregnant Liberty getting locked out of the White House Residence in the middle of the night when the President took her outside to go to the bathroom. The Secret Service had to let him back inside.

[deadpresidents]

Is it true that Lincoln’s dog Fido is the reason Fido became a popular name for dogs?

It's certainly thought that it popularized the name "Fido" for dogs in the United States, but I don't know for sure if that's apocryphal and has just become common knowledge or not.

Fidelis or fidus is Latin for (roughly) "faithful" or "trustworthy", so "Fido" seems like a pretty perfect name for a dog. I'm sure Lincoln wasn't the first person to use that name, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did give it the 19th Century version of a signal boost, especially in the United States.

[lovesthepens]

The Pens and their first pets. Rabbits came up a lot.