Fido, Abraham Lincoln’s mixed-breed dog, was frequently seen around Springfield, Illinois carrying a package in his mouth behind Mr. Lincoln, or waiting outside Billy’s Barber Shop while his owner got his hair cut. But, after the election of 1860, president-elect Lincoln decided not to take Fido to Washington D.C. He worried that he would not survive the train ride, and he knew the noises of the city would terrify him.
Lincoln asked his neighbor, John Eddy Roll, a carpenter who had remodeled his house, to look after Fido with the following instructions:
The Roll family was asked never to scold Fido for entering the house with muddy paws. He was not to be tied up alone in the backyard. Additionally, Fido was to be allowed into the Roll home whenever he scratched at the front door and into the Rolls’ dining room at mealtimes. Fido was used to being given food by everyone sitting around the table.
The Lincolns also left Fido their horsehair sofa, and before they departed for the capitol, they took him to F.W. Ingmire’s photography studio for a professional portrait.
Hat tip to my dad for sending me the photo and to the Abraham Lincoln Research website for the wonderful details of Abraham Lincoln’s devotion to Fido. Read more here.
Happy President’s Day!
