Have you ever heard of a real dog named Rover or Fido?

I’ve never met or heard of a real dog named “Rover” or “Fido,” and neither has anybody I know. How about you? So why do we all instantly know these as dog names?

Last week at the dinner table out the blue my Dad started singing a silly song he used to sing with his friends when he was young with the name “Rover” in it that brought up this really important question. 

The song is set to the tune of “I’m Looking Over A Four-Leafed Clover,” and I don’t want to offend my dog-loving friends out there so I won’t repeat all the lyrics, but it starts out, “I’m looking over my dead dog Rover who I overran with my mower.” It got worse from there. But as the American Humane Society would say, no animals were harmed in the performance of this song.

So after scolding my Dad for the silly and disturbing lyrics, I couldn’t help but ask where did the name “Rover” come from? And while I was at it, what about “Fido”? I decided to do some research, (and by research I mean I Googled it) to find out where these famous dog names originated. Here’s what I discovered.

In 1905, a black and white British short film titled “Rescued by Rover” hit the screens. This silent movie followed the exploits of a heroic Lassie look-alike that saved a baby from a kidnapper. This was the first movie to ever cast a dog in the starring role. If you’d like to watch this six-minute piece of history, here is a link.https://youtu.be/LlhNxHfyWTU

I actually found two famous dogs named Fido that might explain why we all know the name but don’t name our dogs that.

Years before Abraham Lincoln ever became President, he named his dog – a mutt – “Fido” which is from the Latin word for “faithful.” Fido lived up to his name and comforted the future President when he suffered from bouts of depression. But when Lincoln became our sixteenth President and went to move to the White House, his wife wouldn’t let him bring the dog to D.C. because she said he would track mud in the house and bother the guests. Lincoln had a photograph taken of Fido to carry with them to their new home to comfort his boys. So Fido became the first president’s dog to be photographed even though he never lived in the White House! After the tragic assassination of Lincoln, Fido was brought to the funeral to comfort the mourners, and this photo made Fido famous.

The other dog I discovered in my “research” that made the name “Fido” famous lived in Italy during World War Two. This part pointer would join his owner Carlo Soriani on the walk to and from the bus stop each day. One day, the brick factory where Carlo worked was bombed and he was killed. Fido showed up at the bus stop as always but his owner never came. Fido lived up his name and faithfully went to the bus stop every day for years in the hopes that his owner might be there to meet him, until he passed away fourteen years later. Because of his incredible loyalty to his owner, Fido was memorialized and a statue was made of him in his hometown of Borgo San Lorenzo.

So, anyone have a faithful dog out there that deserves the heroic name “Fido”? And please be careful with your lawn mower especially around dogs!

Sources:

https://www.mamalisa.com/blog/generic-dog-names-rover-fido-and-spot/
https://www.fitbark.com/blog/why-are-dogs-called-fido-rover-and-spot-the-history-of-dog-names/