President Roosevelt and Fala Go for a Drive in Hyde Park

In this black and white photograph, President Franklin D. Roosevelt is driving around Hyde Park with his dog Fala in the front seat. While the president was not able to move his legs, his car was equipped with special hand controls so that he could drive the car. 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 Roosevelts 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.