WHO'S YOUR BEST FRIEND?

The legend claims that, “Vespasian was sitting in his tent after battle, and his dog brought him a hand. He knew he’d be emperor in 69 AD.” I don’t know what he named his dog, but perhaps he said something such as, “Good dog, “Caligula”! Shake!”

I happen to like dogs very much, especially when I can play with them, and then their owners are the ones who have to pick up the poop. In American history, all of our Presidents (except one) enjoyed the companionship of their dogs.  

George Washington, “The Father Of Our Country,” gave less than distinguished names to his hounds; “Sweet Lips, Scentwell, Vulcan, Drunken Taster, Tipler and Tipsy.” Just think of it, Washington could have been King.

It was a common sight in Springfield to see Abe Lincoln walking to the local market with “Fido”, a floppy-eared, yellowish mutt, who trailed behind him carrying a parcel in his mouth. Sadly, “Fido” was assassinated, just like his Master, a year after Lincoln died. “Fido” made the mistake of jumping, with his dirty paws, on a drunk sitting on the curb, and the man killed him. So, “Fido” because a footnote in history—road rage at its worst.

Sometimes the dog of a President has become a part of his master’s political life. James Garfield named his dog, “Veto.” I’m sure it must have been irritating for Congress, when they presented a bill to Garfield, and he’d shout, “Here comes “Veto.”

The most famous dog, who became a celebrity in his own right was “Fala,” President Franklin Roosevelt’s little black Scottish Terrier, who never left the President’s  side.  He became so popular that thousands of people wrote to him, and he got his own secretary to respond to them. There was even a movie made about “Fala" in 1942.

With all of that publicity, the Republicans decided to use “Fala” to slander the President, by spreading a rumor that President Roosevelt had accidentally left “Fala” in the Aleutian Islands, and spent millions of taxpayers’ money to send a destroyer back to retrieve him.  F.D.R. answered these accusations with his famous,”Fala” Speech.’”  In the speech given to the Teamsters Union in 1944, F.D.R. said, “Both I, and my family, somewhat expect malicious statements to be made about us, but I have to object when such statements are made about my dog!”

President John Kennedy had 9 dogs, but “Pushinka” was probably the first mutt from Russia allowed into the Oval Office. “Pushinka” was a gift to Kennedy from the Russian Premier, and he was a litter puppy from the Soviet space dog, “Strelka.”

Lyndon Johnson had two beagles, “Him” and “Her.” His Great Society program got less publicity than when he lifted one dog by the ears claiming, “It’s good for him.”

In 1952, Richard Nixon, as Eisenhower’s running mate, was the first politician to use television to defend himself of accepting illegal gifts. He referred to his black and white cocker spaniel, “Checkers,” ( whom his family had been given as a gift) when he said, “And you know, the kids, like all kids, love the dog, and I just want to say this, right now, that regardless of what they are saying about it, we’re gonna keep it.”  The address became known as the “Checkers Speech.”

Too bad, that, years later,  “Checkers” didn’t have his own apartment at Watergate. That could have been a good excuse for the break-in—-“Just here to play checkers.”

I recently said to a friend, “All of the other Presidents had dogs. Why do you suppose that Donald Trump doesn’t have a dog?” He replied, “He’s got the Senate. They bark! They sit! They  roll over! Who needs a dog?”

Esther Blumenfeld