Officer Benjamin Fink holds Tiger, Calvin Coolidge’s tabbie cat, at the White House on March 25, 1924. Calvin and Grace Coolidge literally had a zoo at the White House. Among their other pets were other cats and a raccoon.
Pets
Hebert Hoover’s Dog, King Tut
When he ran for president in 1928, Herbert Hoover had experience as the wartime food administrator under President Woodrow Wilson and as secretary of commerce under Presidents Harding and Coolidge.
However, Hoover had never run for office, and his public image was somewhat stiff and severe.
So, in those days before TV, Hoover’s campaign officials determined that a photo of Hoover with his dog might make him seem more personable and approachable.
Thousands of copies of this portrait of a smiling Hoover holding up the paws of his Belgian shepherd, King Tut, as if they both were begging for votes, were circulated around the country by the Hoover campaign.
The photo worked! Hoover was elected with an overwhelming majority of votes and high hopes for the future. The New York Times called it “one of the happiest pictures ever made” of Hoover.
About the Dog
Belgian shepherd and German shepherd breeds — commonly known simply as “police dogs” during Hoover’s time — are known for their intelligence and for their extreme loyalty and protective nature toward their owners.
Once in the White House, King Tut patrolled the perimeter of the property’s fences nightly, and he usually seemed worried about protecting Hoover from his many visitors.
But being a White House dog proved to be too much stress for King Tut — to the point that the dog eventually stopped eating. Hoover sent him to a quiet home away from the hustle and bustle of the White House in the hopes that he would recover.
King Tut’s health did not improve, however, earning him the dubious distinction as the presidential dog who “worried himself to death.”
King Tut died in late 1929, at age 8, after having “gradually faded away,” according to an article in The Times [PDF].
Hoover in a Vacuum
King Tut had reason to worry. The same year Hoover took office, the stock market crashed — sending America into the Great Depression. The country also was experiencing unprecedented crime fueled by illegal sales of alcohol in response to Prohibition.
Renominated by the Republican Party in 1932, Hoover lost his re-election bid by a landslide to Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his New Deal.
FDR’s Famous Scottish Terrier, Fala
FALA BIOGRAPHY
Courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
- BORN: April 7, 1940
- DIED: April 5, 1952 and was buried in the Rose Garden next to the sundial near FDR on April 7, 1952
Fala, a Scottish terrier, was given to the president by Mrs. Augustus G. Kellog of Westport, Connecticut through Franklin Roosevelt’s cousin, Margaret “Daisy” Suckley. At first his name was Big Boy. Franklin renamed him Murray the Outlaw of Falahill, after a Scottish ancestor.
Fala had a bone every morning brought up on the president’s breakfast tray. Fala got a full dinner every night. During the day, Fala would beg for food from the White House staff. He was so cute that he was fed all the time and became sick. The staff was asked not to feed him extra food. At night, he slept in a special chair at the foot of the president’s bed. Fala traveled with the president on long and short trips by train, car, or boat.
He , of course, met many famous visitors and entertained them with his tricks. He could even curl his lip into a smile for them.
Here are some trips and people that he met:
- In August 1941, Fala was at the Atlantic Charter Conference in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland with the president and Prime Minister Winston Churchill of England.
- In September 1942 and April 1943, Fala went on inspection trips of defense plants and visited Monterey, Mexico and President Camacho.
- In August 1943 and September 1944, he went to the Quebec Conferences.
- In 1944, Fala was with the President on a sea trip to the Aleutian Islands. Rumors spread that Fala was accidentally left on one of the islands. During the 1944 presidential campaign, the Republicans accused him of spending millions of taxpayers’ dollars in sending a destroyer back for him. The President answered the attack in his famous Fala speech while talking to the Teamsters Union. Roosevelt defended his Scottie, saying, that he, Roosevelt, expected such criticism aimed at himself, and that even his family expected negative talk about themselves. However, Fala had not been the same. Since the charge was made: “His Scotch soul was furious.”
- There was another incident on a sea trip aboard the ship Tuscalosa in the West Indies. It was a hot day. The sailors were trying to cool off. They were lying on the deck stretched out in a row. Their bare feet were lined up. Fala caused quite a commotion by moving quickly along the row licking and tickling their feet.
- And yet another time, Fala was with the President on a fishing trip to Florida. As the fish were caught, they were thrown in a pile on the deck. Quite a pile accumulated. They were all flip-flopping in the air as fish do. Fala began to flip-flop, too. It was such a fun game that he did it for several days.
In April 1945, President Roosevelt died in Warm Springs, Georgia. Fala attended the funeral. He went to live with Mrs. Roosevelt at Val-Kill. He never really adjusted to the loss of Roosevelt. Even so, Val-Kill was in the country. It was a great place to run, play, chase squirrels, and even cats sometimes. Mrs. Roosevelt brought his grandson, Tamas McFala to live at Val-Kill, too, and be Fala’s playmate. Sometimes they would run off together and get into trouble. They came home hours later covered with burrs and mud. By the end of such a busy day, he was an exhausted dog. Sometimes he slept on his back with his feet in the air.
He was so popular that he received thousands of letters from people. He even needed to have a secretary appointed to him to answer his mail. One letter dated August 5, 1947, was from a poodle named Abigail. Fala chased a skunk once, which was very unpleasant for everyone. The poodle scolded Fala for not acting with more intelligence and dignity. Abigail hoped that Fala would never, ever let that unfortunate incident be repeated.
In 1942, a movie was made about Fala and his life in Hyde Park. Children and other visitors who come to the Roosevelt Museum and Library in Hyde Park, New York still enjoy watching it today.
Fala is probably the only president pet to be memorialized in statuary. A statue of Fala stands next to one of FDR at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington D.C.
Additional Resources
The following sources contain references about Fala:
- The New York Times index contains many references to Fala from November 1940 to his death in April of 1952. An article in the Times appeared in January 11, 1942, VII, p. 11.
- The Reader’s Digest, March 1941, in an article titled “Presents for the President,” states that Fala “is the only dog FDR has accepted and given the run of the White House…”
- The most famous remarks made by FDR about Fala were in his speech to the Teamsters Union, on September 23, 1944, which is available in The Public Papers and Addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt, edited by Samuel I. Rosenman.
Some books with references to Fala include:
- Working With Roosevelt, by Samuel I. Rosenman. Harper Brothers, New York. 1952.
- Franklin Roosevelt at Hyde Park, by Olin Dows. American Artists Group, Inc., New York.
- Roosevelt and Hopkins, by Robert E. Sherwood. Harper Brothers, New York. 1948.
- FDR, My Boss, by Grace G. Tully, pp. 128-132. Charles Scribner & Sons, New York. 1949.
- Off the Record With FDR 1942-1945, by William Hassett. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey. 1958.
- The True Story of Fala, by Margaret ” Daisy” Suckley. Scribner & Sons, New York. 1942. This volume may be purchased through the Museum Store at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York.
Harry S. Truman’s (Short-Term) Dog, Mike
In May 1945, about a month after President Harry S. Truman was sworn in, Postmaster General Robert Hannegan gave Truman’s daughter, Margaret, an Irish setter puppy.
The puppy, whom the 21-year-old Margaret named Mike, spent the summer of 1945 at the Truman home in Independence, Missouri, rather than at the White House.
Unfortunately, Mike developed rickets. According to several sources, the dog’s health suffered as a result of all the scraps he received as treats from staff members.
The Trumans gave Mike to a farmer in Virginia, where they hoped the dog could be more comfortable (and be fed fewer scraps).
Later, President Truman himself received a dog as a gift. Feller, as the cute cocker spaniel puppy was known, became the source of controversy when Truman quickly gave him away.
The Truman Library puts it this way: “They preferred to be a pet-free family.” However, author and dog expert Stanley Coren says his research clearly shows Truman flat-out didn’t like dogs, and that the president called Mike “a damn nuisance” and Feller “a dumb dog.”
Truman was many things — but a dog lover certainly wasn’t one of them.
President Truman’s Unwanted Dog, Feller
Some people attribute the quote “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog” to our 33rd President Harry S. Truman. However, he probably didn’t really say that — and if so, Truman certainly wasn’t very good at following his own advice.
President Truman, who took over the Oval Office in 1945 after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt during FDR’s fourth term, came to Washington, D.C., from Missouri dogless.
The Truman Library puts it matter-of-factly: “They preferred to be a pet-free family.”
“Whatever Happened to Feller?”
Almost three years later, Truman angered dog lovers all across the country when he gave away a dog that a supporter had sent him. A woman from his home state of Missouri sent him a cocker spaniel puppy named Feller, but Truman gave Feller away to his personal physician.
“Thousands [of angry Americans] wrote letters to the president,” according to a Newseum exhibit on presidential pets.
A few months later, a reporter asked, “Mr. President, whatever happened to Feller?” — to which the president responded, “To what?”
“Feller, the puppy,” said the reporter.
“Oh, he’s around,” Truman replied.
Feller eventually wound up at a farm in Ohio, where he lived happily for many years until he died of old age.
Simply Not a Fan of Dogs
As we note in our article about another dog the Trumans gave away, this particular president was many things, but clearly he wasn’t a dog lover. Researcher and dog expert Stanley Coren goes so far as to say President Truman was downright angry about having any dog in the White House, calling Feller a “dumb dog” that Truman just needed to “get rid of.”
“I didn’t ask for him, and I don’t need him,” Truman said, according to Coren.
The reader should note that every U.S. president since Truman has had — and quite enjoyed having — a dog at the White House.
President Eisenhower’s Weimaraner, Heidi
Dwight Eisenhower’s dog, Heidi, has the dubious distinction of being possibly the only presidential dog banned from the White House.
(We will set aside, for now, the fact that Jimmy Carter’s daughter’s dog Grits and Harry Truman’s dog Feller — both unsolicited gifts — were rehomed.)
The story goes that Heidi, a beautiful female Weimaraner born May 9, 1955, had an accident on an expensive rug in the diplomatic reception room.
And when we say expensive, we don’t just mean by late-1950s standards. The rug was worth $20,000 at the time! (With inflation, that’s something like $160K in 2013 dollars.)
Heidi’s weak bladder had gotten her into trouble before with the World War II general and his wife, so after the rug incident, the Eisenhowers decided to send the dog permanently to their farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Wary of Photographers
True to her breed, Heidi was protective of her owners.
She was especially wary of White House photographers and would often try to prevent Mamie Eisenhower from having her picture taken by jumping between the First Lady and the camera. Or Heidi would just jump up on people!
Although the breed has since become more recognized through the whimsical photographs of William Wegman, the Weimaraner was relatively unknown to Americans when Ike and Mamie moved to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in 1953.
In fact, until the late 19th century, German breeders required that any Weimaraners sold for a trip to America be sterilized so that the breed standards would not be compromised.
Known for its hunting abilities, the Weimaraner is an excellent family dog and serves well as both a loyal guard dog and a lively playmate. (Read Petful’s Weimaraner breed profile here.)
“She Tends Toward Stubbornness”
The Eisenhower Library website quotes a 1958 letter from the president to Arthur Summerfield, who served as postmaster general for Eisenhower and gave him Heidi in 1955:
“Heidi is definitely an asset to life in the White House. She cavorts on the South Lawn at a great rate, with such important projects as chasing squirrels and investigating what might be under bushes. She is beautiful and well-behaved (occasionally she tends toward stubbornness but is then immediately apologetic about it). And she is extremely affectionate and seemingly happy. I am constantly indebted to you [and your son Bud] both for giving her to me.”
Heidi reportedly enjoyed life on the farm (where there were not as many photographers!) and had at least four puppies after she left Washington.
Quick Facts About Eisenhower’s Dog Heidi
- For nearly a year, much of the press didn’t realize the president had the dog — even though Heidi had been “running all over” the White House lawn, according to Eisenhower’s press secretary.
- At first Mamie Eisenhower didn’t like the idea of having a dog. But the two were said to become great friends.
- On at least one occasion, Heidi had the presidential limo all to herself, with just the driver and a valet sitting up front during a drive from the White House to the Gettysburg farm.
- The Associated Press described Heidi as “mole-colored.” The Boston Globe preferred to call her “taupe-gray.” Yet another newspaper pegged the color as “ginger.”
- One day Heidi startled one of Eisenhower’s secretaries by pushing the buzzer underneath the president’s desk. The secretary came bounding in, notepad in hand, ready to follow orders.
- Back then, as today, reporters tended to go gaga over presidential pets. One newspaper claimed Heidi was fed a breakfast of two poached eggs on toast and two strips of bacon every day — which the White House laughed off and called “ridiculous.” However, one of her two meals a day was cooked ground beef mixed with dry dog food.
- Heidi slept in a comfy basket on the third floor, and had full run of the White House and grounds. During the day, she often napped in the president’s private office, where he gave her head scratches and belly rubs.
- For at least three years, Heidi still wore a tag that said “To President Eisenhower,” which came with the dog when she was gifted to the president by Bud Summerfield.
