Happy President's Day from your friends at the Dog Denizens of Genesee Park (DDGP)!While many Americans today salute the men who have occupied the White House, the DDGP pays homage to the canines who resided at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Harry S. Truman, the 33rd President of the United States, was quoted as saying, "IF you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." Given the vitriolic tone of today's political debate, Man's Best Friend is needed in the nation's capital now more than ever.
According to the American Kennel Club (AKC), George Washington was "not only the father of our nation, but father of the American foxhound." Washington developed the American foxhound by carefully breeding imported English foxhounds and French foxhounds, which were gifts from the Marquis de Lafayette. The kennel included dogs named Drunkard, Tipsr, Tipier, Scentwell, Sweet Lips and Vulcan.
While occupying the White House Theodore Roosevelt owned a variety of breeds, including a Saint Bernard, Pekingese and terriers of bull, rat and Manchester breeds.
In the 1940s, rumors spread that Fala, a Scottish terrier belonging to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was inadvertently left behind in the Aleutian Islands during a visit by the commander and chief. Rumor had it that Roosevelt -- during World War II -- reportedly sent a ship back to retrieve Fala. When the members of the Fourth Estate howled, Roosevelt shot back: "You can criticize me, my wife and my family, but you can't criticize my dog. He's Scotch and all these allegations about spending all this money has made his little soul furious." The pundits labeled this retort the "Fala speech".
As a vice-presidential candidate, Richard Nixon came under fire for alleged financial proprieties. With his place on the ticket with Dwight D. Eisenhower, Nixon took a page out of the Fala playbook and delivered a 30-minute speech on national television in which he addressed the allegations. Nixon concluded the political ad with an anecdote about a "black and white spotted" cocker spaniel that a supporter shipped from Texas to Washington, D.C. The daughters named the pooch Checkers. "As you know, the kids like all kids love the dog and I just want to say this right now that regardless of what they say we're gonna keep it." The so-called "Checkers speech" saved Nixon's nomination.
Checkers was long gone when Nixon assumed the presidency in 1969. During his tenure in the White House, Nixon had three dogs: Irish setter King Timahoe, poodle Vicki and Pasha the terrier.
A few quick items about Presidential dogs:
- President John F. Kennedy owned several dogs, including Pushinka, the offspring of Soviet dog cosmonaut Steika.
- President Lyndon B. Johnson, Kennedy's Vice President and Oval Office successor, shared the White House with several beagles. Two hounds -- Him and Her -- were featured on the cover of Life magazine in 1964. Johnson generated negative publicity when -- in the presence of reporters and photographers -- he picked up the beagles by their ears.
- President Gerald Ford, the only Commander and Chief not elected by the Electoral College, kept Liberty the golden retriever. Liberty may have proven the most popular aspect of the Ford presidency.
- President Ronald Reagan exiled his Bouvier des Flandres Lucky to the family ranch. Lucky loved to chase members of the alleged biased elite media, and was deemed too large to live in the White House. The Reagans replaced Lucky with a Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Rex.
- President George H.W. Bush's Springer spaniel wrote Millie's Book As Dictated to Barbara Bush. (Minimum bids for the book start at 99 cents on eBay.) The Roanoke Times proclaimed Millie "the most famous dog in White House history." In a speech during his 1992 re-election campaign, Bush proclaimed, "My dog Millie knows more about foreign affairs than those two bozos." The "two bozos" Bush referenced were opponents Bill Clinton and Al Gore, who defeated Bush and Dan Quayle in November 1992.
- President Bill Clinton needed a friend in late 1997 when the sex scandal with White House intern Monica Lewsinky broke. Clinton adopted a chocolate lab for whom he named after his great-uncle Henry Orem "Buddy" Grisham.
- President George W. Bush owned Scottish terrier Barney, who generated headlines after he bit a Reuters reporter. In his book State of Denial: Bush at War, author Bob Woodward reported that Bush said, "I will not withdraw (from Iraq) even (First Lady) Laura and Barney are the only ones supporting me."
- President Barack Obama kept a campaign promise to his daughters when the family adopted Portuguese water dog named Bo. The family chose the hypo-allergenic breed to accommodate daughter Malia's allergies. Bo was a gift from Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, an aficionado of Portuguese water dogs.
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