Running for his fourth term in office, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, defended his black Scottish Terrier, Fala, during a campaign dinner with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America on September 23, 1944.
Having been accused by Republicans of having left Fala in the Aleutian Islands and using taxpayer dollars to send a Navy Destroyer to receive him, FDR defended Fala’s honor by claiming he resented the “libelous statements about my dog.”
Fala and Roosevelt were inseparable during his Presidency, making Fala one of the most well-known Presidential pooches and the only to have a statue erected at a presidential memorial in DC.
Check out these photos of FDR and his best bud Fala:
Sydney is an editorial fellow at Washingtonian Magazine, where she writes about history, news, food, and events. A recent graduate of the College of William & Mary, she is interested in writing and videography. You can follow her on Twitter @sydneykmahan