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Morning Start: Abraham Lincoln’s dog was also assassinated

Your morning start for Thursday, February 27, 2020

President Abraham Lincoln’s tragic assassination in April 1865 is an image as powerful today as any. Adding to the image is the fact that Lincoln’s dog, Fido, wound up with his owner’s fate. Hopefully you’ve had your morning coffee.

Fun Fact of the day:

Lincoln’s dog was named Fido and as the first presidential dog to ever be photographed, he helped popularize the name to the point of cliché. There are a few surviving photos of the yellow lab mix.

The story was told by Johnny Roll, a member of Fido’s adoptive family, to Time Magazine in 1954.

One year after Lincoln was assassinated by stage actor John Wilkes Booth, Fido also met a tragic end. The dog ran up to a drunken man sitting on a curb, jumping up on him with dirty paws. The man, in a drunken rage, knifed the dog.

“So Fido, just a poor yellow dog, met the same fate as his illustrious master – assassination,” said Roll in the Time interview.

Weather forecast according to Environment Canada:

The region is in store for sun and cloud, with 40 per cent chances of flurries in Kelowna, Vernon and Salmon Arm this morning.

In Kelowna:

In Vernon:

In Penticton:

In Salmon Arm:

In case you missed it:

Winnipeg police are investigating graffiti at the headquarters of the Manitoba RCMP, among other locations. The buildings and the monument outside the RCMP office were spray painted with slogans that appear to be linked to protests against a planned natural gas pipeline through Wet’suwet’en First Nation land.

Video of the day:

Some dogs just care too much about their jobs.

WATCH: Wet’suwet’en supporters vow to keep protesting at B.C. legislature


Brendan Shykora
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(Natalia Cuevas-Huaico - Kelowna Capital News)


Brendan Shykora

About the Author: Brendan Shykora

I started as a carrier at the age of 8. In 2019 graduated from the Master of Journalism program at Carleton University.
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