To his 80-year-old owner no less.
Related: The Yorkshire Terrier curse.
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Yorkshire Terriers
In the best case scenario, this dismal excerpt from a novel about President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his Scottish Terrier, Fala, is satire. In the worst case scenario it’s just really bad writing.
I don’t have the wherewithal to figure it out, dear readers, so I leave it up to you:
A half a world away, President Roosevelt took a deep breath and stretched his legs on the south lawn of the White House. Standing next to him was Herbert Hoover, dressed in a long coat and his Stanford scarf. Tucked under his right arm was Roosevelt’s faithful Scottish Terrier Fala.“Is this really necessary Herbie?” mumbled the President under his breath.
“You know it is Franklin. I don’t want you just fast, I want you quick too. Now get to it,” with that Hoover tossed the startled dog to the ground and Roosevelt began to scamper after him.
“Damn you Hoover, why does everything have to be so hard?” coughed Roosevelt, regretting his morning smoke.
“Because anything worth having is going to be hard Franklin. You Democrats need to learn that. It can’t all be government hand outs,” laughed Hoover.
And so it began. Carefully, hidden from view of the Washington press corps, Hoover trained Roosevelt every day. By May, the Olympics were looming and Roosevelt’s 100 meter time was still only 10.6, a full .3 seconds slower than Jesse Owens. He’d never be able to compete with the Germans at this rate. He couldn’t help, but wonder why winning meant so much to him now. He was brought up to believe that participating in athletic competition was victory. Now, he was training with the single minded determination he didn’t know he had within himself. He knew now, he would do whatever it took to run their socks off.
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Back last month the Scottish Terrier and Dog News reported on Talons of the Condor, a novel about the first openly gay president of the United States, who, like a number of straight presidents before him, was a Scottie lover.
The Scottie News was able to obtain an interview with author John Simpson in which he gave us the back story. Mary, the fictional president’s Scottie who is, was modelled on the author’s eponymously named heart dog who died at age seven and is shown above on her last Christmas. “I try to bring her personality out whenever I mention her in my books. It’s a way of keeping her alive. It makes me feel good,” said Simpson, whose latest novel is his second about President David J. Windsor. “Mary was special from the start. ”
Simpson, who has had Scotties for more than 25 years and currently lives with his sixth, seventh and eighth dogs, describes the breed as being “little in size only.”
Author John Simpson with Christopher
And what does Simpson think of the non-fictional Scotties who have occupied the White House? FDR’s “Fala was the most famous dog in the world.” But he didn’t have to put up with what Bush’s Barney did. “I don’t blame him for biting the reporter. You get sick of having mikes shoved in your face.” As for overlooked Miss Beasley, Simpson sees an upside: “She didn’t get dumped on her head by Bush either.”
Order Talons of the Condor here and see Mary on the book jacket.
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Most Scottish Terrier lovers have heard of this famous FDR dog speech, but have you ever seen it? Did you know it was available on YouTube? Okay, it’s true the sound quality’s not so good but still.
The Fala portion begins at about 7:40 when FDR says, “You know, Fala’s Scotch.”
My favourite line: “I think I have a right to object to libelous statements about my dog.”
I can’t help but wonder if we’ll ever hear Barack Obama says something like that about Bo
Or will he ever have occasion to utter, “You know Bo’s Portuguese?”
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A reader sends this picture of his Scottish Terrier at the FDR and Fala Memorial in Washington and writes:
I’ve attached a photo of my Scottie, Tartan, with his hero’s memorial. See how happy he was! Everyone at the FDR Memorial oohed and aahed and took pics too.
Tartan looks much better than the Bichon Frises, who were there earlier.
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A reader writes (using text terminology):
I found your web site and u seem to know a lot about Murray the outlaw of falahill (Fala). I was hoping u could help me.My father purchased an old kennel, ( odd me dodd) in central point oregon. We were told that the breeder there was the one that owned fala’s father (Peter The Reveller) how ever we have not been able to prove this, were trying to find some kind of connection between fala and our kennel. Do u think u can help?
Let’s start by putting the question out there for our highly knowledgeable readers and Fala historians.
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The Amazon product description notes: “Author Elizabeth Van Steenwyk offers young readers a glimpse into American history and the life of a U.S. president through the story of a loyal dog. Michael G. Montgomery s full-color illustrations capture the indomitable spirit of Fala and the nation and president who loved him.”
For some reason no one sent us a review copy so we’re basing out critique solely on the cover art which we love. And, really, given that it’s an election year, the timing couldn’t be better.
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On September 23, 1944:
President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), campaigning for a fourth term during World War II, derisively defended Fala, his black Scottie dog, against a Republican political attack.
In a speech to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, FDR addressed accusations that he had mistakenly left his beloved terrier behind during a visit to the Aleutian Islands in 1943, after their recapture from the Japanese. Opponents alleged that FDR had dispatched a destroyer to bring the dog back.
Amid laughter, the president said:
“These Republican leaders have not been content with attacks on me, or my wife, or on my sons. No, not content with that, they now include my little dog, Fala.”
The Scottish Terrier and Dog News is glad to see that there have not been any vicious dog attacks (by which we mean attacks on candidates’ dogs) in this election.
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Wouldn’t you know it, there’s a Yorkshire Terrier involved?
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The Scottie Dog News is happy that we can spend our Friday publishing cute puppy photos because if we were the Yorkshire Terrier and Dog News, there would be no place for puppies today.
Yes, the Yorkshire Terrier Curse just won’t go away, as the most recent bad Yorkie news demonstrates:
A one-year-old Yorkshire terrier was among the many things stolen after three units at the Bluffs Apartments in Dallas were burglarized, NBC 5 reported.New York police doubt the story of a woman who says her boyfriend was walking her Yorkshire Terrier, Lucy, around 2 a.m. when he was mugged, knocked unconscious and had his wallet stolen. She says the attacker kidnapped the 2-and-half-year-old Yorkie.
Six months ago, Newton was rescued from a small dog breeding operation in Ohio. Now, the two-year-old Yorkshire terrier needs to be rescued again. Newton ran off last Saturday night while his owner was housesitting for a friend. Residents of Flamborough, Ontario have reported sighting him a couple of times since but no one’s caught up to him.
Gidget the Yorkshire Terrier has been forced into the high-stakes Sex trade.
And you thought Scotties were difficult!
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