Liberty was born February 8, 1974, and given to the president as an 8-month-old puppy by his daughter Susan Ford and new White House photographer David Hume Kennerly in the fall of 1974.

[1] Liberty was frequently photographed with Ford in the Oval Office, in the swimming pool at Camp David and on the South Lawn of the White House.

[2] At one point Ford was locked in a White House stairwell after returning from walking the dog on the South Lawn early one morning.

[4] Stories indicated that if Ford wanted to end a conversation in the Oval Office he would signal Liberty and she would go to the guest wagging her tail creating a natural break.

[5] Ford discussed the dog in a speech on October 9, 1974, in a tribute to William Scranton in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:[6] Liberty is immortalized in bronze as part of Ford's statue in Rapid City, South Dakota's "City of Presidents" public art installation of presidential statues.