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Day 53: May 8
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Made for each other
(Source: argonautconference)
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No Comment: Murray the Outlaw of Falahill
Né: Big Boy
Fala, a Scottish Terrier, was born on the 7th of April 1940. He would die April 5th of 1952 at the age of 11.Fala’s first owner was Margaret Suckley, a cousin of the 32nd president Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Fala was given as a Christmas present to the president in 1940….
(Source: argonautconference)
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Thanks Buzzfeed!
Fala: The Most Underrated Presidential Dog
Sure we all remember Socks and Barney and of course there is Bo, but Fala is the greatest presidential pet of all time.
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R.I.P. Presidential Pup Barney: Times Managing Editor Jimmy Orr, a staffer in George W. Bush’s White House, remembers the creation of the “Barney Cam.”
People liked our videos. People loved Barney. Why not strap a video camera to the first dog’s head, chase him through the White House so viewers can see the Christmas decorations from his vantage point, and stream it over the Internet?
Read more about Orr’s experiences in the Oval Office, and the passing of the 12-year-old Barney, here.
(Photo via Eric Draper / White House)
(via ourpresidents)
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Former First Dog Barney Bush Passes Away At Age 12
Former First Dog Barney Bush — a black Scottish terrier known for chasing golf balls and taking America on video tours of the White House — has passed away after a battle with lymphoma. He was 12.
Former President George W. Bush announced on Friday the passing of the “little fellow,” saying in a news release that “after twelve and a half years of life, his body could not fight off the illness.”
“Barney was by my side during our eight years in the White House,” said Bush, who also released Friday an oil painting he did of Barney (Image above). “He never discussed politics and was always a faithful friend. Laura and I will miss our pal.” (Dallas Morning News Trail Blazers Blog)
White House photo by Kimberlee Hewitt
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Daisy Suckley plays with Fala in FDR’s White House Study, December 20, 1941. (FDR Presidential Library & Museum)
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Margaret “Daisy” Suckley and Fala, the dog she gave FDR, at Top Cottage during the summer of 1941. This photo was taken by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
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I would prefer to visit the house on a winter afternoon, and have tea with the creature who brought F.D.R. some of his greatest moments of personal happiness. (I’m talking about his dog Fala, of course, Daisy’s gift to the president the year after the events depicted in the film.)
— David Netto, referring to Wilderstein, home of Margaret (Daisey) Suckley, FDR’s cousin, Ghosts of the Hudson Valley - NYTimes.com
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FDR’s Fala featured in book ‘Dogs of War’
Fala, the beloved Scottish terrier who brought levity to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidential years, is in the news again.
The diminutive canine took away some of the burdens of a presidency that stretched from the dark days of the Depression to the near end of World War II. Fala delighted Roosevelt at the White House, at his New York home at Hyde Park and at the Little White House, Roosevelt’s rural Georgia retreat at Warm Springs.
Fala is one of a trio of famous pooches profiled in “Dogs of War,” written by Kathleen Kinsolving. In the book, Kinsolving relates the stories of Fala, Willie and Telek – all owned by key figures during World War II.
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According to “Dogs of War,” FDR’s cousin, Margaret “Daisy” Suckley, decided in 1940 “that FDR might benefit enormously from the friendship of a new dog.” When a friend offered her a Scottish terrier pup, she presented “Big Boy” for Roosevelt.
The president renamed the dog “Murray, the Outlaw of Falahill,” in honor of a Scottish ancestor. It was a nickname, Fala, which stuck with the endearing dog as he moved onto the world stage with his famous owner. (The Times-Herald)
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dog people: fdr
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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.
— Eleanor Roosevelt (via necroromantic)
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April 21, 1945
Dear Fala,
You probably don’t remember me. But I knew you back in our kennel days when we were a couple of young pups—in fact we chewed our first bone together, remember? In writing you this letter, I’m speaking for dogs throughout the world. For we are all deeply grieved to hear of the death of your master. Your personal loss is felt by all of us. You know as well as I do that leading a dog’s life is no bed of roses. But a dog’s life is for dogs. Human beings shouldn’t horn in on our territory. But lately a lot of men and women and kids have been leading a dog’s life, and your master was one of the humans who didn’t like to see that sort of thing happening. That’s why we respected him—he wanted to keep human beings in their right place. And he did something about it. He made plans, and people had confidence in his plans because his integrity and sincerity were felt the world over. In other words, he made a lot of people see the light, or as we’d put it, he put them on the right scent. Let’s hope they can keep their noses to the ground and work it out for themselves, even though his personal guidance has been taken away from them.
With deepest sympathy,
Fido
(via Letters of Note)
