When it comes to dogs, Harry Truman was best known for saying, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.” He also said: “Children and dogs are as necessary to the welfare of the country as Wall Street and the railroads.”

Purebred dogs in the Truman administration included, “Mike,” an Irish Setter pup given to Truman’s daughter, Margaret, by his Postmaster General, Robert Hannegan, and “’Feller,’ a poor five week old Cocker Spaniel gifted to the Trumans unsolicited. After a rough trip to reach the White House and a brief stay there, Feller was given to the White House physician who gave the dog to the manager of what is now Camp David, and he gave the dog to his father. Happily, the dog lived out his life at the family farm in Greenfield, Ohio with less change than he endured at the beginning of it. 

In 1947, Mrs. Harry Truman invited Eleanor Roosevelt to make a speech during the March of Dime campaign to fight polio. It was Roosevelt’s first public appearance behind a White House microphone and she asked that “two dimes instead of one” be given by Americans to fight the disease from which her husband suffered.

A rally that followed the former first lady’s speech included a parade of Great Danes, all with March of Dimes canisters attached to their collars.

This image credited to Richards Studio comes from Northwest Room at The Tacoma Public Library, (D72378-4); Tacoma Public Library supports free public access to all of its resources. The caption under the photo reads: A smiling Frank Freese, bartender at the Moose Club, prepares to donate a dollar bill to the March of Dimes’ canine representative in January, 1953. The pedigreed Great Dane, Diane Katherine O’ Donnell, has one paw on the bartender’s hand as she focuses her attention on the dollar. She is accompanied by Police Chief Jack Elich. Diane was the official mascot of the Tacoma Police Department. The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis sponsored the March of Dimes campaign annually to raise funds for polio research and treatment.