President Joe Biden is in the middle of a fierce battle to win re-election in the 2024 election. While Biden has the support of his family, friends, and colleagues, he will no longer have his dog Commander by his side on a regular basis.
Biden was sworn in as the 46th president in January 2021. Since his time in office, Biden has had two separate German Shepherd dogs named “Major” and “Commander” reside in the White House. Major previously lived in the White House and was the first shelter dog to ever reside in the White House. After a series of biting incidents, Major was sent to live with family friends of the Bidens. The Bidens adopted puppy Commander who lived at the White House until recently, according to a new report shared by the New York Times.
New documents show Commander had at least 24 biting episodes that were reported, including those on members of the Secret Service. According to the report, the Secret Service said they had to “adjust our operational tactics” to protect Biden due to constant biting and fear of agents being bitten by Commander. The 24 biting incidents happened between October 2022 and July 2023 and happened at the White House, Camp David, and Biden’s homes in Delaware. The reported incidents only include the attacks on members of the Secret Service and do not include any potential attacks on other personnel.
Around a dozen of the incidents required medical attention, including one Secret Service member needing stitches. Another agent who was bitten had blood spill out onto the floor of the White House according to the report. One of the most gruesome items described in the report is an East Wing Tour of the White House needing to be stopped for a period of at least 20 minutes due to the blood on the floors of the White House.
“The president and first lady care deeply about the safety of those who work at the White House and those who protect them every day,” Jill Biden’s communications director Elizabeth Alexander said. Alexander said Commander went through dog training and consultations with animal behaviorists before a decision was made to have the dog live with other family members in the fall.
Presidents owning pets is nothing new with all but two presidents — James K. Polk and Donald Trump — having pets while in the White House. Dogs are the most common presidential pet with 33 of 45 presidents owning at least one. Trump became the first president since William McKinley to not own a dog while in the White House, breaking a streak of over 100 years.
Secret Service had to change their tactics to help protect Biden and keep themselves safe from potential dog attacks, which may have been a distraction. Given the magnitude of the 2024 election, removing Commander from the White House was likely a difficult but correct choice by the Bidens. Past history showed John Quincy Adams and Herbert Hoover owned pet alligators. Theodore Roosevelt owned over a dozen different animals while in office, including a black bear, a badger, a snake, and a hyena.
