White House Pets (1953-Present)

BROWSE: 1789-1850 | 1850-1889 | 1889-1953 | 1953-present

History of White House dogs

In 1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt was running for his fourth term when rumors surfaced that his Scottish Terrier, Fala, had accidentally been left behind when visiting the Aleutian Islands. After allegedly sending back ships to rescue his dog, Roosevelt was ridiculed and accused of spending thousands of taxpayers’ dollars to retrieve his dog. At a speech following this Roosevelt said, “you can criticize me, my wife and my family, but you can’t criticize my little dog. He’s Scotch and all these allegations about spending all this money have just made his little soul furious.” What was later called the “Fala Speech” reportedly helped secure re-election for Roosevelt. Continue Reading…