Popular opinion says you are either a dog person or you’re not. I am. And here is a picture of one of my four chihuahuas. My grandmother was also a dog lover and doted on a large mutt, who was frightened of traffic. He was called Spookie. My mother was a cat lover – sometimes it skips a generation!

My grandmother’s cousin, Daisy Suckley was also a dog lover. She gave Franklin Roosevelt the first ever official Presidential dog, Fala, a black Scottie, and she had Button, a female black Scottie who was his mate. Both dogs (and their humans owners) were close. Fala featured in news reels and received fan mail answered by the White House. He was cute and feisty and much loved by Roosevelt, who liked to take him on business trips for nighttime company.

One famous bit of ‘fake news’ involved the Republicans accusing FDR of spending thousands of dollars to send a warship to fetch Fala from an island off the Canadian coast because he had been forgotten. Completely untrue. But what is true is that Fala had descendants, lovingly looked after by Daisy. Some dog tails and love stories run and run…

#writingcommunity #wilderstein #readersofinstagram #daisychainnovel