Family Pets and Animals

The Lincolns were a family devoted to pets. Lincoln's law partner, William Herndon, noted that if the Lincoln children "wanted a dog--cat...it was all right and well treated--housed--petted--fed--fondled, etc., etc." The boys shared their love of animals with their father.

Lincoln loved his horses, such as "Old Bob," who took him on the long, lonely journeys across the prairie when he was traveling to the circuit courts. ("Old Bob" survived to 1865 and was included in Lincoln's funeral procession in Springfield, Illinois.)

Lincoln also showed affection for dogs and cats. In the 1850s, the Lincolns kept a dog, named Fido, and Mrs. Lincoln once, in a letter to her husband, referred to cats as "your hobby." William Herndon commented on the importance of pets and animals to Lincoln: "If exhausted from severe and long-continued thought, he had to touch the earth again to renew his strength. When this weariness set in he would stop thought, and get down with a little dog or kitten to recover; and when the recovery came he would push it aside to play with its own tail."

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Fido

 

Fido

NPS

Fido was a yellow mongrel dog, given to the Lincoln family by the Roll family just 4 lots south of the Lincoln residence. Fido became a member of the Lincoln family in the mid 1850’s. Willie and Thomas (Tad) were very fond of Fido, and Fido was fond of the entire family, especially Abraham who often had Fido at his heels going to the law office or waiting for him to finish getting a haircut outside. Fido could often be found hiding underneath the horsehair couch during a thunderstorm or a loud gathering, or at the side of the dinner table asking for scraps from the boys. When Abraham was elected to the presidency, he broke the news to Willie and Tad that the train ride was not suitable for a dog and that he would be left with the Roll family, the same family who gave Fido to the Lincolns. Fido and his beloved couch stayed together for a sense of normalcy while adjusting to the home of his new family. Following Abraham’s assassination, The Rolls brought Fido to the procession to say goodbye to his previous owner.