Abe & Fido by Matthew Algeo

c.2015, Chicago Review Press

$22.95/$27.95 Canada

166 pages

To no one’s surprise, it happened again: Another celebrity spilled a “secret.” Maybe it happened as a need for publicity. Perhaps it was a cry for attention or a heavy burden released. It might’ve been just the knowledge that confession is good for the soul as well as for the wallet. Or maybe, says Matthew Algeo in his new book Abe & Fido, it was secret only to history.

Five years before he would be elected the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln considered himself a failure; earlier in 1855, he lost a bid for a seat in the Senate by just six votes, a loss that put him into a deep funk. That summer, perhaps as a mood-lifter, he adopted a dog he named Fido. “Lincoln,” says Algeo, “did not buy the dog.” Most likely, Fido was a stray, a “tramp” puppy or, as Lincoln called him, a “yaller dog” of mixed descent like so many canines of his time.

Lincoln’s sons were overjoyed at the new family addition; Mary Lincoln was not. Though Lincoln often gave in to her whims and desires, “it’s noteworthy that he insisted on keeping the dog.”

Indeed, Lincoln had always had a soft spot for animals. He owned a pet pig as a child, and was deeply distraught when his impoverished family had to kill the porker for food. He had quiet “affection” for the horses he rode while working as a lawyer and while on political business, and felines “were especially dear to Lincoln.”

But sporting a name indicating loyalty, and owning a special spot on Lincoln’s sofa and in his heart, Fido was “one pampered pooch” at a time when pet-keeping was a status symbol.

By mid-winter 1860, after winning the election for the presidency, Lincoln had several difficult decisions to make, one of which greatly bothered him. Other presidents had successfully taken their dogs to office with them, but Fido was terrified by loud noises and he disliked crowds and fuss.

Lincoln knew his dog would hate it at the White House. The Lincolns would go to Washington and Fido would stay in Illinois.

What do the classic children’s book Pat the Bunny and Abraham Lincoln have in common?

The answer to that – and more – lies inside Abe & Fido. But author Matthew Algeo doesn’t only share a little-known man-and-dog tale here. His account starts in the early days of Lincoln’s political career and moves toward the finality we know.

That tension, that understanding of what’s to come, gives this book a thriller-like sense of urgent doom, softened by anecdotes of the warm gentleness of a man who’s still beloved 150 years after his assassination. And even though you know what happens in the very end … you don’t.

I’ve no doubt that collectors of Lincolniana will relish this book, as will Civil War and 19th century historians.

If you’re a dog lover, too, or just want a peek at a quiet corner of history, Abe & Fido is a nice surprise.

Terri Schlichenmeyer has been reading since she was three years old and never goes anywhere without a book. She lives on a hill in Wisconsin with two dogs and 11,000 books. Readers with questions or comments may write to Terri in care of this publication.