Charlie, the dog that may have saved us from World War 3

With subtitle or not?

Despite the fact that President John F Kennedy had an allergy to pet hair he was a committed animal lover and was determined that his children would grow up benefiting from being around animals. The entire family had a large number of pets including horses, cats, dogs hamsters, rabbits and birds.

In 1962 the world was to be brought to the brink of war. Some estimates are that a third of the world’s population could have been killed. Had it happened the aftermath could also have been catastrophic as the world economy would have been destroyed and the survivors reduced to a level of poverty unknown in modern times.

For the benefit of younger readers, in 1962 the Cuban missile crisis nearly led to World War 3.

This was a confrontation between the United States of America and what was then the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (now the Russian Federation) over the deployment of missiles on the island of Cuba. President Fidel Castro of Cuba was concerned that his country was in danger of being invaded by America and sought assistance from his ally, President Nikita Khrushchev. The Americans were concerned about having such weapons so close to their territory and demanded that the missiles be removed. It is believed that President Castro, despite knowing that his country would be annihilated encouraged President Khrushchev to make the first strike and on the American side some senior military commanders advised President Kennedy to strike first.

As the crisis deepened the world waited with bated breath for what appeared to be the inevitable nuclear conflict.

With war imminent what occurred stunned President Kennedy’s advisors. The President sat in the war room, listened to the conflicting advice and as chaos reigned called for an aide to fetch Charlie.

Charlie

Charlie was described as a Welsh Terrier who originally had been a gift to the President from his wife Jacqueline. Charlie the dog sat obediently as the President stroked him and it is reported that President Kennedy was seen to visibly relax. One can only imagine the atmosphere in the room as high ranking generals and America’s leading politicians stared in utter disbelief as the most powerful man in the world facing a crisis of monumental proportions took the time to stroke his dog.

After a while, he asked for Charlie to taken away and is quoted as saying.

“I suppose that it is time to make some decisions.”

In a masterstroke of diplomacy, President Kennedy was able to get President Khrushchev to remove the weapons from Cuban territory and return them to Russia.

War had been averted.

I guess the majority of the free world was extremely relieved that President Kennedy was the incumbent in the White House at the time. We can only look on with apprehension concerning future difficulties as not all world leaders have the wisdom of John F Kennedy and some have never owned a pet.

Maybe in the future when voting we not only need to read their manifesto, check their record, ask awkward questions but we should also ask if the prospective candidate for being a Prime Minister or a President has a proven record of exemplary pet ownership!!

Today, nearly 60 years later we now recognise the value of stroking a pet, it lowers blood pressure by 10%, reduces stress, keeps us calm and assists us to face what appear to be insurmountable problems.

When it came to dealing with anxiety, without a doubt JFK understood the value of “pet therapy” and in doing so was way ahead of his time.