Today is National Dog Day. President Abraham Lincoln was extremely close to his beloved dog, Fido. When he was elected to the Presidency and moved to Washington, DC, he felt that the hustle and bustle of living in the White House would be upsetting to Fido so he chose to keep him in the care of a good friend at home in Springfield, Illinois.

Some of President Lincoln’s instructions for caring for Fido were that he be allowed to have the run of the house, not to be reprimanded for tracking mud into the home, and to be fed scraps from the dinner table. He even left an old sofa for Fido which happened to be his dog’s favorite place to lay.