The Dogs of President Eisenhower

Before becoming the 34th president of the United States, Dwight Eisenhower was a five star general. During World War II he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe.

Eisenhower grew up in a poor family on a farm near Abilene, Texas. He was the third of seven brothers, all of whom were nicknamed “Ike.”

He is pictured between his parents and two younger brothers with his little childhood dog, Flip, looking on.

At one time, paraphrasing Mark Twain, he said,” What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog.” He may have had this dog in mind.

Because he didn’t have enough money for college, Eisenhower joined the military and graduated from West Point. After he retired from the army he served as president of Columbia University before being elected president of the United States in 1952.

While in the White House, Ike and his wife, Mamie, kept two pets, a parakeet and a Weimeraner named Heidi.

Weimeraners were quite rare in the United States during this time. The breed had been developed by the Court of Weimar in the early 1900’s as one of Germany’s top sporting dogs and companion animals.

The breeders were very selective about who owned one of their dogs. For many years any Weimeraner sold to an American was sterilized to prevent a breeder from changing the basic attributes of the breed, their hunting skills and  pleasant, loyal dispositions.

When World War II began, the breeders were concerned about the safety of the dogs. If a kennel were bombed, the breed could be wiped out forever. So before and after the war breeding pairs of Weimeraners were allowed to go the United States.

Heidi was a gift to the Eisenhowers from friends, Arthur Summerfield and his wife. Eisenhower sent this letter to them:

”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 both for giving her to me . . .” Source

All the Presidents' Dogs

Washington   Jefferson  Lincoln   Harding  T. Roosevelt  Coolidge   Hoover  FDR   Truman  Nixon   Kennedy    L. Johnson   Ford   Carter  Reagan  Clinton

Comments

[Sue St Clair]

A lovely write-up :) The White House has seen many canine residents. I enjoyed learning about Heidi :)

[Kristine]

Interesting history on the Weimariner. It's still not a very common breed, I don't think. I've only seen them on television. But they are definitely beautiful.

[georgia little pea]

All the brothers were nicknamed Ike? How strange.

That's a great quote about the "fight" :) Interesting bit of history too, about the way weis were brought into the States.

[jackie]

wow..didn't know that..well I knew all about Ike but not the dog..cool

[Clive]

Such an interesting story. Clive plays regularly on our local green with the most beautiful Weimeraner - who has the most incredible blue eyes. They are such fabulous dogs.

[wendy]

I wonder why all of the brothers were nicknamed Ike?

I love the pictures of Heidi, she has such an alert look on her face.

[Jodi]

I did not know the history of the Weimeraner (or what kind of dog Ike had for that matter.)

Your posts are always so interesting, I think I learn something every time I read. :-)

[Marion]

I loved reading about Eisenhower's dogs, especially the Weimeraner. My aunt owned one for a short while...I don't know what happened to it...but I do remember how gentle and soft she was.

Heidi is such a pretty dog. Good post, thank you, Jan!

[Dennis the Vizsla]

Weimies are beautiful dogs. We considered getting one before we ended up falling in love with vizslas.

[Charleston Voice]

Are you an Eisenhower Neoconservative?

What’s a Neoconservative?
http://chasvoice.blogspot.com/2012/01/whats-neoconservative.html