American presidential pet
Major
, a
German Shepherd
, was a
presidential pet
belonging to
United States president
Franklin D. Roosevelt
.
In 1933, while living at the
White House
, Major had incidents in which he bit
United States Senator
Hattie Wyatt Caraway
and
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Ramsay MacDonald
. After the latter incident, he was sent to live at Roosevelt's private residence in
Hyde Park, New York
and never returned to the White House.
Early life
[
edit
]
Major had originally been a
police dog
.
[1]
When Roosevelt was
governor of New York
, he was gifted to Roosevelt by the
New York State Police
.
[1]
A November 1932 article in the
Brooklyn Eagle
described Major's personality as "sedate", and described Roosevelt, who had multiple dogs, as being partial towards Major.
[2]
Life at the White House
[
edit
]
Ahead of Roosevelt's inauguration, Major, along with the Roosevelts' other dog Meggie, took a six-hour car ride with
Eleanor Roosevelt
to travel from New York to
Washington, D.C.
[1]
[3]
Major was known to chase the White House
maids
, who would wield their brooms and dust mops to ward him off.
[1]
[4]
On March 24, 1933, Eleanor Roosevelt said that she had twice taken Major on trips to
Rock Creek Park
, and he got into fights with other dogs on both trips. She said that if he accompanied her to the park in the future, he would do so wearing a
muzzle
.
[5]
On April 29, 1933, Major bit
Hattie Wyatt Caraway
(a
United States senator
) at a White House party.
[6]
In 1933,
Ramsay MacDonald
(
prime minister of the United Kingdom
) made an official state visit to the White House, the first time such as visit had occurred during Roosevelt's presidency. During this visit, Major nipped MacDonald and tore off the bottom of his pants.
[1]
[4]
After this incident, Major was sent to live at Roosevelt's residence in
Hyde Park, New York
and never returned to the White House.
[4]
Similarly, decades earlier, President
Theodore Roosevelt
had exiled his
bull terrier
Pete
from the White House after he bit numerous people, even tearing the pants off of
Jean Jules Jusserand
(
ambassador of France to the United States
).
[7]
[8]
[9]
Comparisons to Joe Biden's dog of the same name
[
edit
]
In 2021, Major and his biting incidents received new attention when United States President
Joe Biden
's dog named
Major
, also a German shepherd, had incidents in which he bit people at the White House.
[4]
[10]
[11]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"FDR's German Shepherd, Major"
.
Presidential Pet Museum
. March 5, 2016
. Retrieved
June 21,
2021
.
- ^
Field, Polly Carter (November 6, 1932).
"Wejee, Hoover Pet, A Trifle Anxious as Election Day Nears"
.
Newspapers.com
. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle
. Retrieved
June 22,
2021
.
- ^
"Mrs. Roosevelt to Drive Own Car To Capital, Accompanied By Dog"
.
news.google.com (Google News Archive Search)
. Reading Eagle. February 13, 1933
. Retrieved
June 21,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Hughes, Jesse (April 1, 2021).
"Major and Major: 2 presidential dogs with 1 story"
.
www.thedenverchannel.com
. KMGH
. Retrieved
June 21,
2021
.
- ^
"Mrs. Roosevelt's Dog Picks Fight On Bridle Paths"
.
Newspapers.com
. Evening Star (Washington, D.C.). The Associated Press. March 25, 1933
. Retrieved
June 22,
2021
.
- ^
"White House Police Dog Bites Senator Caraway"
.
Newspapers.com
. The Morning Call. The Associated Press. April 30, 1933
. Retrieved
June 21,
2021
.
- ^
"SNAP SHOTS"
.
Newspapers.com
. The Buffalo Illustrated Sunday Times. October 30, 1910
. Retrieved
August 25,
2021
.
- ^
"Major's not the only misbehaving White House dog. But don't let that deter you from adopting a shelter pup"
.
NewsChannel 3-12
. March 10, 2021
. Retrieved
June 21,
2021
.
- ^
"Presidential Pets"
.
CBS News
. CBS Interactive Inc. October 4, 2016.
Archived
from the original on May 17, 2018
. Retrieved
May 16,
2018
.
- ^
Wanshel, Elyse (March 31, 2021).
"FDR's German Shepherd, Major, Had A History Of 'Biting Incidents,' Too"
.
HuffPost
. Retrieved
June 21,
2021
.
- ^
Shabad, Rebecca; Pettypiece, Shannon; Gregorian, Dareh; Welker, Kristen (March 9, 2021).
"Bidens' German shepherd Major causes 'minor injury' to Secret Service agent's hand"
.
NBC News
. Retrieved
June 21,
2021
.