Board Game Inspired Dog Names

Checkers the Cocker Spaniel belonged to the family of the 37th president of the United States, Richard Nixon. The famous dog's distinct look and style can be found in many pictures of the family, photos detailing their close relationship with the canine.

The reason the unwitting Checkers the dog is cited to be the explanation for Nixon winning the 1968 presidential race is due to a historical event called the "Checkers Speech" or "Fund Speech." In this speech, Nixon defends himself against the allegations that he was using a trust fund meant for the Republican's campaign for his personal extravagant expenditures. Sitting in a middle-class set and detailing all the evidence of his history of spending, he promised he had never inappropriately used supporter's money and other donations during his tenure as a politician. That is, all except for one special dog...

Checkers was actually a gift from a Nixon supporter from Texas. A man named Lou Carrol heard oMrs. Nixon claim their family would love to have a dog over a radio show, and decided to give them a spotted canine. In the speech, it was revealed that it was Nixon's then 6-year-old daughter, Tricia, who bestowed the adorable name to the black and white Cocker Spaniel. The Republican presidential candidate acknowledged that the fact that Checkers was a donation posed a problem, but it was too late - the entire Nixon family fell in love instantly! While he was careful to keep the donation heat off of his career, he couldn't resist the wonderful dog and decided to keep Checkers, no matter what his greatest critics might say. This special devotion made him a country-wide every man, putting on a face that made him relatable to the average American. The innocent and sincere reasoning behind keeping the dog made him a likable person, and nothing like the usual straitlaced politician we are used to seeing in the papers. We can safely say that it worked like a charm!

Due to the result of the Checkers Speech, an overwhelming success that turned the tables, we have no reason to doubt that the Nixon dog was appropriately named.