FDR's Fala

Fala In Retirement

In April of 1945, President Roosevelt died in Warm Springs, Georgia. Fala attended the funeral but seemed lost without his beloved master. He went to live with Mrs. Roosevelt at Val-Kill, where he spent his time running, playing and chasing squirrels and cats. Eventually Mrs. Roosevelt brought Fala’s grandson, Tamas McFala to live at Val-Kill, and be Fala’s playmate. Sometimes they would run off together only to come home hours later covered with burrs and mud. All in all it was a restful retirement from his days at the feet of President Roosevelt in the glare of the Washington spotlight. On April 5, 1952, Fala passed away and was buried in the Rose Garden next to the sun dial not far from the graves of President and Mrs. Roosevelt on what would have been his twelfth birthday April 7, 1952. — Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum

Photo: Eleanor Roosevelt, Fala (right), and his grandson Tamas on the sleeping porch at Val-Kill cottage, Hyde Park, New York, 1951

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