Abraham Lincoln’s Dog, Fido Kate Kelly in most communities. The strays scavenged for food around local eateries and found barns where they could sleep. These dogs were generally called “tramps.” (This may explain the Disney title, “Lady and the Tramp.”) Only a lucky few of the dogs found themselves with a home to live in and a family to love. Fido was one of them. Lincoln had not had an easy childhood, and his hardscrabble background gave him a soft spot for children and for animals. He rarely disciplined his sons, and of course, if a cat or a dog found their way n the 1850s, the Lincoln family to the Lincoln household, they were not acquired a yellow mixed-breed dog they turned away. (His wife Mary did not feel named Fido. Fido often accompanied Lin- the same way. Springfield streets could coln to his Springfield law office or around be very muddy, and Mary did not like all town on errands. Fido also loved being with the dirt tracked in by the children, and the Lincoln boys, Willy and Tad, and he later, the dog.) Robert Lincoln was away during much was known to most people in Springfield. of this time. He was older than his brothFido’s Story In the mid-19th century, few families ers (born in 1843). In 1859, he was sent to could afford pets, but dogs were plentiful boarding school, Phillips Exeter Academy.
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The Lincolns Adopt Fido Rough-coated yellow dogs like Fido were common at that time. (Lincoln had owned another “yaller dog” named Honey when younger.) Fido must have arrived in the household by 1855 as historians can produce an invoice for vermifuge, a “de-wormer,” from the Springfield drugstore. Whether the family found him, or whether he chose them, is a story we do not know but certainly by the mid-1850s, the Lincolns had Fido living with them. While today the name “Fido” is so common that it’s used generically to refer to canine “pets.” Fido is from the Latin “fedelitas” for faithful, so naming the dog Fido was likely very high praise for the dog. At the time, the most popular name for dogs was Carlo, according to Matthew Algeo, author of the book, Abe & Fido. The name “Carlo” was popular among the well-read, as it was the name of the faithful pointer in Jane Eyre. Family Dog Fido was very much a “house dog.” The streets of Springfield were often muddy, so between Willy and Tad and Fido, the house must have been difficult to keep clean. Over Mary’s protests, Fido sometimes climbed into bed with one of the boys. He amused the family by chasing his tail in the drawing room. At dinner, Abe and the boys were happy to pass him scraps from the table. Before Lincoln became president, Fido’s days were generally spent out with one family member or another. If Lincoln was doing errands, Fido went along with him and was sometimes given the responsibility of carrying Lincoln’s purchase. Fido was also well known at the barbershop. Billy the Barber was an institution in Springfield, and since Abe went in regularly for shaves (he was clean-shaven until late 1860), Fido often went, too. When Lincoln went to his law office, Fido could have accompanied him, but chances were good that he went to find Willy and Tad instead. He could wait for them at school, or Willy and Tad were often out and about with friend. Fido liked joining them. Like other dogs of the same time period, there was no particular effort at training Fido. He came and went as he pleased, and because Lincoln tended to indulge both his children and their pets, no one ever broke Fido of his habit of jumping up on people to cheerfully lick hello. With the muddy streets of Springfield, Fido did sometimes annoy. Presidential Campaign During the mid-19th century, it was considered unseemly for presidential candidates to campaign. Instead, party representatives traveled on a candidate’s behalf, and as many people as possible were asked to write letters in support Winter 2021
