General
Patton was an avid animal lover. He bought the first of many bull terriers just after World War I for his daughters, Beatrice
and
Ruth Ellen, and named him Tank. Although Tank turned out to be
stone deaf, the girls loved him and called him by thumping on
the floor. In spite of his deafness, Tank somehow always knew
when Patton was arriving home and met him at the front door.
The most famous bull terrier owned by General Patton was purchased on 4 March, 1944. He was named Willie, short for "William the Conqueror." Willie was devoted to General Patton and followed him everywhere.
When General Patton bought
Willie, he
wrote in his diary, "My bull pup . . . took to me like a
duck to water. He is 15 months old, pure white except for a little
lemin [sic] on his tail which to a cursory glance would seem to
indicate that he had not used toilet paper. . ." Willie wore
jingle bells on his collar so everyone would know when he was
around and he was rumored to be a prodigious "lover."
He supposedly had his own set of "dog tags," too. Willie could often be
seen 'at ease' on the family beds.
