Major
Franklin D. Roosevelt with Major, 1933
SpeciesDog
BreedGerman Shepherd
OccupationPresidential pet (originally a police dog)
OwnerFranklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt

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

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

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

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

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "FDR's German Shepherd, Major". Presidential Pet Museum. March 5, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ "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.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Hughes, Jesse (April 1, 2021). "Major and Major: 2 presidential dogs with 1 story". www.thedenverchannel.com. KMGH. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  5. ↑ "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.
  6. ↑ "White House Police Dog Bites Senator Caraway". Newspapers.com. The Morning Call. The Associated Press. April 30, 1933. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  7. ↑ "SNAP SHOTS". Newspapers.com. The Buffalo Illustrated Sunday Times. October 30, 1910. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  8. ↑ "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.
  9. ↑ "Presidential Pets". CBS News. CBS Interactive Inc. October 4, 2016. Archived from the original on May 17, 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  10. ↑ Wanshel, Elyse (March 31, 2021). "FDR's German Shepherd, Major, Had A History Of 'Biting Incidents,' Too". HuffPost. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  11. ↑ 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.
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