Miscellaneous
U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was given a black and tan feist type dog named Skip by John Goff during his 1905 hunting expeditions in the west. Many have claimed this dog to be a rat terrier but in reality he more closely resembled the old black and tan terrier or Manchester. An often recited story is how this terrier helped rid the White House of rats in 1906 but in fact it was two dogs owned by local pest exterminator Mr. Barclay and his ferrets which were utilized. This story was so often recited that when the Rat Terrier Club of America wished to separate the short legged variety from the longer legged they named the short legged variety the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier in honor of Mr. Roosevelt's supposed participation with the breed.
The Rat Terrier was a common farm dog in the early 1900s, bred for catching barn rats in haystacks.
Eleanor Powell trained a little dog named Buttons for a tap dance scene in "Lady Be Good"
A Rat Terrier was mentioned in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird published in 1960.
Shirley MacLaine's beloved rat terrier, Terry, is featured in her 2003 book Out on a Leash.
Best-selling author John Sandford is a rat terrier owner, and has been known to refer to them in his novels.
William Faulkner owned several rat terriers, and his short story "The Bear" featured a "fyce" (feist), or rat terrier, named "Nip" who bravely attacks a ferocious bear until his master pulls him back.
Read more about this topic: Rat Terrier