Laddie Boy

Airedale Terrier owned by Warren G. Harding

Laddie Boy

Species| Canis lupus familiaris
Breed| Airedale Terrier
Sex| Male
Born| (1920-07-26)July 26, 1920
Died| January 23, 1929(1929-01-23) (aged 8)
Owner| Warren G. Harding

Laddie Boy (July 26, 1920 - January 23, 1929) was an Airedale Terrier owned by U.S. President Warren G. Harding. He was born in Toledo, Ohio. His father was Champion Tintern Tip Top.[1][2] He was presented to Harding by Charles Quetschke of Caswell Kennels and became a celebrity during the Harding administration.[1]

Laddie Boy was a faithful dog. When the president played golf and hit a tree, Laddie Boy would run up to the tree and retrieve the ball. Laddie Boy had his own hand-carved chair to sit in during Cabinet meetings. The White House held birthday parties for the dog, invited other neighborhood dogs to join, and served them dog biscuit cake. Newspapers published mock interviews with the dog. Laddie Boy had a caretaker.

He was the first "First Dog" to be regularly covered in the national press.[2][3] Harding and his wife Florence shared a love of animals and the First Lady, also an advocate for the care of abused and neglected animals, soon began employing this handsome dog as a poster child for the national promotion of animal rights issues.[2]

Purportedly, the dog howled constantly for three days prior to President Harding's death in August 1923 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, knowing of his master's imminent demise. In memory of President Harding and honoring his former employment as a paperboy, newsboys collected 19,134 pennies to be remelted and sculpted into a statue of Laddie Boy. Harding's widow died before the statue was completed in 1927 and the statue was presented to the Smithsonian Institution.[4][5] Harding's death and the dog were commemorated in song.[6][7]

After the president's death in 1923, Florence Harding gave the Airedale to Harry Barker, her favorite Secret Service agent. She knew her poor health wouldn't allow her to look after the dog properly. Harry took Laddie home to his family in Boston, and the dog lived a very normal life and was much loved by the Barker family. Laddie's death in 1929 was proclaimed in newspaper headlines across the country.[8]

Laddie is immortalized in bronze along Harding in Rapid City, South Dakota, as part of its "City of Presidents" art installation of presidential statues.[9] In the summer of 2012, Laddie Boy's unique collar, fashioned from Alaskan gold nuggets, was stolen from the Harding Home and Museum.[2][10]

## See also

[edit]

* Dogs portal

* United States presidential pets
* List of individual dogs

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "The Dog Fancier". The Dog Fancier: 11. September 1922.
2. ^ a b c d "Famous and Forgotten, Toledo's Laddie Boy, The First Presidential Pet". August 6, 2012. Archived from the original on August 14, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
3. ^ "Top Dogs: Canines in the White House" (PDF). White House Historical Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 3, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
4. ^ Tedeschi, Diane (January 22, 2009). "The White House's First Celebrity Canine". Smithsonian.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2011. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
5. ^ "National Affairs: Again, Laddie Boy". TIME Magazine. August 16, 1926. Archived from the original on January 31, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2013.(subscription required)
6. ^ Seward, Edna Bell (poem); Seward, George M. (music), Laddie Boy, He's Gone, Harold Rossiter Music Co/Getty Images (sheet music)
7. ^ "Series IV: Popular Sheet Music, L-M". Milne Special Collections. University of New Hampshire. Archived from the original on May 14, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
8. ^ "Fact vs. Fiction". President Harding Home. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
9. ^ Rapid City Tourism: City of Presidents, Warren G. Harding
10. ^ Zachariah, Holly (June 13, 2012). "Thief takes dog collar from Harding home". Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved October 1, 2018.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Laddie Boy.

* Diane Tedeschi (January 22, 2009). "The White House's First Celebrity Dog" (photo gallery). Smithsonian Magazine. Library of Congress. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
* Seward, Edna Bell (poem); Seward, George M. (music). "Laddie Boy, He's Gone" (sheet music). PHarold Rossiter Music Co/Getty Images. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
* Presidential dog collar stolen from Harding's home Photograph

* v
* t
* e

Warren G. Harding

* 29th President of the United States (1921–1923)
* 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio (1904–1906)

Life|

* Harding Home
* Harding Tomb
* The Marion Star
* Electoral history of Warren G. Harding
* 1914 United States Senate election in Ohio
* 1920 United States presidential election
* Front porch campaign
* transition
* 1920 Republican National Convention

Presidency
(timeline)|

* Inauguration of Warren G. Harding
* Washington Naval Conference
* Depression of 1920–1921
* Agricultural Appropriations Act of 1922
* Budget and Accounting Act
* Bureau of the Budget
* General Accounting Office
* Cable Act
* Capper–Volstead Act
* Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill
* Emergency Quota Act
* Emergency Tariff of 1921
* Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921
* Future Trading Act
* Fordney–McCumber Tariff
* Grain Futures Act
* Great Railroad Strike of 1922
* Knox–Porter Resolution
* Revenue Act of 1921
* Sheppard–Towner Act
* Veterans Administration
* Willis Graham Act
* List of federal judges appointed by Warren G. Harding
* Warren G. Harding Supreme Court candidates
* Harding Railroad Car
* Voyage of Understanding
* Teapot Dome scandal

Public image|

* The President's Daughter
* Cultural depictions of Warren G. Harding
* List of memorials to Warren G. Harding
* Warren G. Harding Presidential Center
* Historical reputation of Warren G. Harding

Family|

* Florence Harding (wife)
* Elizabeth Ann Blaesing (daughter)
* George Tryon Harding (father)
* Carolyn Harding Votaw (sister)
* Nan Britton (mistress)
* Laddie Boy (pet dog)

* ← Woodrow Wilson
* Calvin Coolidge →

* Category

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template