Fala was a famous Scottish Terrier, the beloved dog of US President Franklin D.Roosevelt. One of the most famous presidential pets. Fala captured the attention of the public in the US and followed Roosevelt everywhere, becoming part of Roosevelt's public image. Fala moved into the White House on November 10, 1940 where he spent most of his time there until Roosevelt died.
Every morning Fala was given a bone that came in with Roosevelt's breakfast tray; at nights he was fed dinner. However, in Fala's first few weeks in the White House, he was sent to the local vet after getting a severe gastrointestinal disorder; it was later discovered that the White House staff was constantly feeding him, and he became ill after eating too much. Roosevelt ordered that "not even one crumb will be fed to Fala except by the President" and the dog was in good health thereafter. Fala was often with Roosevelt on the scene of important events.
In April 1945, Roosevelt died. Fala attended the funeral and went to live with the widowed Eleanor Roosevelt. She wrote this passage in “On My Own”, her autobiography: “It was Fala, my husband's little dog, who never really readjusted. Once, in 1945, when General Eisenhower came to lay a wreath on Franklin's grave, the gates of the regular driveway were opened and his automobile approached the house accompanied by the wailing of the sirens of a police escort. When Fala heard the sirens, his legs straightened out, his ears pricked up and I knew that he expected to see his master coming down the drive as he had come so many times. Later, when we were living in the cottage, Fala always lay near the dining-room door where he could watch both entrances just as he did when his master was there. Franklin would often decide suddenly to go somewhere and Fala had to watch both entrances in order to be ready to spring up and join the party on short notice. Fala accepted me after my husband's death, but I was just someone to put up with until the master should return”.
Every morning Fala was given a bone that came in with Roosevelt's breakfast tray; at nights he was fed dinner. However, in Fala's first few weeks in the White House, he was sent to the local vet after getting a severe gastrointestinal disorder; it was later discovered that the White House staff was constantly feeding him, and he became ill after eating too much. Roosevelt ordered that "not even one crumb will be fed to Fala except by the President" and the dog was in good health thereafter. Fala was often with Roosevelt on the scene of important events.
In April 1945, Roosevelt died. Fala attended the funeral and went to live with the widowed Eleanor Roosevelt. She wrote this passage in “On My Own”, her autobiography: “It was Fala, my husband's little dog, who never really readjusted. Once, in 1945, when General Eisenhower came to lay a wreath on Franklin's grave, the gates of the regular driveway were opened and his automobile approached the house accompanied by the wailing of the sirens of a police escort. When Fala heard the sirens, his legs straightened out, his ears pricked up and I knew that he expected to see his master coming down the drive as he had come so many times. Later, when we were living in the cottage, Fala always lay near the dining-room door where he could watch both entrances just as he did when his master was there. Franklin would often decide suddenly to go somewhere and Fala had to watch both entrances in order to be ready to spring up and join the party on short notice. Fala accepted me after my husband's death, but I was just someone to put up with until the master should return”.
2 comments:
What about the Obama pooch?
That's what I was going to ask WW! But at least it's a BIG dog. Don't trust men with small ones.
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