Fala (dog) - White House Years

White House Years

Fala moved into the White House on November 10, 1940. He spent most of his time there until Roosevelt died and was succeeded by Harry S. Truman in April 1945. Fala also traveled with Roosevelt to his home (Springwood) in Hyde Park, New York and Warm Springs, Georgia (Roosevelt's favorite spa town).

An MGM film about a typical day in the White House featured Fala. Fala also became an honorary private in the U.S. Army by "contributing" $1 to the war effort for every day of the year and setting an example for others on the home front. During the Battle of the Bulge, American soldiers asked one another the name of the President's dog, expecting the answer "Fala," as a supplementary safeguard against German soldiers attempting to infiltrate American ranks.

Fala was often with Roosevelt on the scene of important events; he traveled on Sacred Cow, the president's airplane, and the Ferdinand Magellan, Roosevelt's custom-made train car, as well as by ship. Fala was with Roosevelt at the Atlantic Charter Conference, Quebec, and the meeting with President Manuel Ávila Camacho of Mexico in Monterrey.

In 1943, Fala was the subject of a short series of political cartoons by Alan Foster entitled "Mr. Fala of the White House." In the 1943 romantic comedy Princess O'Rourke, Fala was played by Whiskers.

At the time, Fala was the second most famous terrier in the U.S. next to Terry, the dog who played Toto in the Wizard Of Oz.