Franklin Roosevelt and Fala at the Resolute Desk

This black and white photograph shows President Franklin D. Roosevelt sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Yellow Oval Room with his dog Fala sitting on a chair nearby. Fala, a Scottish Terrier, was a gift to President Roosevelt from his cousin Margaret “Daisy” Suckley. Fala went to live in the White House on November 10, 1940, and regularly traveled with the President, including trips to Roosevelt’s homes in both Hyde Park, New York and Warm Springs, Georgia. Fala was popular among the American public and frequently received letters from people across the country. In 1943, MGM made a short-subject film relating the World War II home front story from Fala's perspective. The studio made a second installment in 1946 after his master's death that included Fala's tour of Hyde Park, the Roosevelt family estate, and future site of a presidential library.