Fala—dog of the “Greatest Generation”

When he was president, Franklin Roosevelt had wanted a dog for years, but First Lady Eleanor thought that the White House was not a proper place to raise a puppy.

And so he was delighted when his cousin gave him a Scottish Terrier, who would become Fala, the most famous dog of his day.

And like the rest of us who bond with a dog, life for President Roosevelt would never quite be the same.

Being a normal puppy, Fala soon discovered the White House kitchen where dozens of people seemed to have no other function than to ply him with goodies. Being a normal puppy, this overindulgence soon resulted in vomiting and diarrhea.

As a result, the President decreed “Not even one crumb will be fed to Fala except by the President.” From then on Fala’s meals were brought to the President who would hand feed him. White House dinners would often be delayed until Fala was fed.

Fala went every place the President went. The Secret Service referred to Fala as “The Informer” because wherever Fala went, the President in his wheel chair was not far behind.

Fala ate his meals in Roosevelt’s study and slept in a chair at the foot of his bed. When the President went on trips, Fala invariably went along.

During the years of World War II Fala sat or dozed quietly beside the President in the Oval Office during meetings in which some of the most important decisions in history were being made.

In 1944, Fala accompanied the President on a trip to the Aleutian Islands. The rumor spread that Fala had been accidentally left on one of the islands and that the President had sent a destroyer back to get him, costing millions of taxpayer dollars.

FDR answered the charges in the famous “Fala Speech,” given before the Teamsters Union in 1944.

"These Republican leaders have not been content with attacks on me, or my wife, or on my sons. No, not content with that, they now include my little dog, Fala. Well, of course, I don't resent attacks, and my family doesn't resent attacks, but Fala does resent them.

“You know, Fala is Scotch, and being a Scottie, as soon as he learned that the Republican fiction writers in Congress and out had concocted a story that I had left him behind on the Aleutian Islands and had sent a destroyer back to find him--at a cost to the taxpayers of two or three, or eight or twenty million dollars--his Scotch soul was furious.

“He has not been the same dog since. I am accustomed to hearing malicious falsehoods about myself--such as that old, worm-eaten chestnut that I have represented myself as indispensable. But I think I have a right to resent, to object to libelous statements about my dog."

Though the “Fala Speech” is not as well known as Nixon’s “Checkers speech,” Fala has a definite place in history.

More information on Fala

Comments

[Kahshe Cottager aka Jen]

You can't mess with a Scottish dog! My Cairns never forget anyone (or their dogs)!

[Tony]

Thats great, you can be the leader of the free world and still be stupid about a dog like the rest of us.

[Kelleigh]

I can't imagine a world leader taking his dog on official business today...times have changed. A pity though!

[schnoodlepooh]

That's a heart warming story about a man and his dog.

[rosemary]

so the moral of that story is...fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!

[Matt]

Good stuff, Jan. People sometimes forget that the joy of pets stretches across all walks of life.

[jackie]

Fala's name always comes up in my crossword puzzles...

[Julie]

I guess this story is just par for the course.

[jan]

Good point, Julie. I guess even today you can insult politicians all you can, but don't mess with their dogs.

[Coll]

Love this story. :-)