Terrier Dogs

An exhibition unveiled last week at the White House Visitor Center shows a variety of White House animals-in-residence.

The one I like the look of is Fala. A Scottish Terrier owned by Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Roosevelt’s Scottish terrier named Fala has gone down in history as one of the most beloved White House pets. “Roosevelt spoiled him and took him everywhere. He would sit in on meetings with Winston Churchill,” Schank said. As part of the war effort in 1942, it was announced that Fala had given up his rubber bones to promote scrap collection.

The terrier attended Roosevelt’s funeral in 1945. He never really adjusted to the loss of his master. When Fala died in 1952, and was buried in the Rose Garden, next to the sun dial, near his master.

Fala is probably the only president pet to be memorialized with a statue. A statue of Fala stands next to one of his master at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington D.C.

terrier dogs

Scottish Terrier, Bonnie, has become Marie Richard’s guardian angel. She runs up and gives a low-pitched whimper, Marie knows a seizure is on its way.

A few seconds later, the convulsions begin. Marie’s body tenses and an epileptic seizure begins. Bonnie, her Scottish Terrier, presses her squat body against Marie’s until the tremors pass. Afterward, the dog gives a cautious nuzzle or lick, staying nearby just in case.

“It’s hard to explain,” Marie said. “It’s just really amazing.”

Scientific studies indicate some dogs can pick up on imperceptible shifts in body signals and possibly chemical odors put out by people before they experience seizures. Dog-training programs nationwide spend years teaching canines to predict and respond to serious episodes.

Some dogs can be trained to assist people with disabilities and disorders such as epilepsy and advanced diabetes. They learn basic commands, such as sitting and heeling, before moving on to assistance commands that involve pulling and pushing objects and alerting others. The training process lasts at least two years and includes a three-week orientation with the prospective recipient.

If a dog, trained or untrained, can alert someone before the event, they are more likely to sit down and prepare themselves for the oncoming seizure, move to a place of safety, and avoid injuries associated with seizures.

Marie marvels at the coincidence that Bonnie came into her life soon after she began getting seizures as the result of a bad fall. She’s grateful to have the dog by her side.

“Someone touching you and being with you is probably the most compelling thing you can have,” she said, as she scratched an appreciative Bonnie on the scruff of the neck. “She’s kind of like my little guardian angel.”

In the two years she and her husband have had Bonnie, Marie has come to recognize the terrier’s uncanny ability to predict convulsions and stay with her until the danger has passed. The dog has never been trained, and the Maria has no idea how she does what she does.

But thank goodness she does!

For more information on Scottish Terriers, click here

terrier dogs