William Lyon Mackenzie King and his Dogs

His best friends, three dogs, all named Pat

Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King was one of our most important prime ministers. For over 21 years, longer than anyone else, he led the country, through part of The Great Depression and the entire Second World War.

From 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930 and 1935 to 1948, he was the man in charge of Canada. From 1919 to 1948, he was the number one person in the Liberal Party.

Throughout his life, he never married and never had children. He had few close relatives, and nearly no close friends.

Today, what he is known for among many people is his interest in the occult and his use of seances to speak to the dead. While he is often mocked for this, the truth is he was a man who lost his best friend to a tragic accident on ice, and his parents both died in a short span of each other. He was simply looking for a connection to those people he loved.

During those seances, he also tried to speak with others that were extremely important to him, his dogs.

In his adult life, William Lyon Mackenzie King had three dogs. They were Irish Terriers and they were all named Pat. Pat 1. Pat 2. Pat 3.

The terriers were more than just pets, they were his friends and in some cases, his advisers. In the book Being Prime Minister, J.D.M. Stewart wrote that the dog Pat was present for nearly all interviews with staff when they were conducted at home. If Pat liked someone, King felt that meant the person was a good person.

The first Pat was given to him by Godfroy and Joan Patterson in 1924. He quickly became King’s best friend. This Pat was with King the longest. The two did everything together, including sharing oatmeal cookies and Ovaltine at night. He often spoke with Pat, and read to him at night.

He said of Pat 1 that he was,

“A God-sent little angel in the guise of a dog, my dear little savior.”

When Pat was near death in 1940, King postponed an important wartime cabinet meeting because he wanted to be by the side of his 17-year-old best friend. As Pat died, King sang “Safe in the Arms of Jesus” to him. He wrote that his friend had taught him about fidelity and honesty.

In his diary he wrote after Pat 1’s death,

“We shall all be together in the beyond, of that I am perfectly sure.”

Through his diary entries, which are all available online, King write heavily about his dogs. From the joy that they gave him, to his concerns when they were sick, to his immense grief when they passed away.

The next Pat, Pat 2, came into his life shortly after in 1941. This Pat became his closest companion, just as the previous Pat had. Sadly, Pat 2 died only six years later.

In 1948, King picked up his last dog, Pat 3, who outlived him after King died in 1950. Pat 3 spent the rest of his life living with friends of King.