President Joe Biden he is in the midst of a fierce battle to win re-election in the 2024 elections.
While Biden has the support of his family, friends and colleagues, he will no longer have his dog Commander by his side regularly.
What happened: Biden was sworn in as on the 46thth president in January 2021. Since taking office, Biden has had two distinct German Shepherds named “Major” and “Commander” reside in the White House.
Major previously lived at the White House and was the first shelter dog to reside at the White House. After a series of violent incidents, Major was sent to live with family friends of the Bidens.
According to a new report shared by the New York Times, the Bidens have adopted puppy Commander who lived in the White House until recently.
New documents show the Commander has had at least 24 reported biting incidents, including those on members of the Secret Service.
According to the report, the Secret Service said it had to “adapt our operational tactics” to protect Biden because of the constant biting and the commander’s fear of agents being bitten.
The 24 bites occurred between October 2022 and July 2023 and occurred at the White House, Camp David and Biden’s homes in Delaware. Reported incidents only include attacks against members of the Secret Service and do not include any attacks on other personnel.
About a dozen incidents required medical attention, including one Secret Service member who needed stitches. According to the report, another agent who was bitten spilled blood on the White House floor.
One of the more gruesome events described in the report was that a tour of the East Wing of the White House had to be interrupted for a period of at least 20 minutes due to blood on the White House floors.
“The President and First Lady care about the safety of those who work at the White House and those who protect them every day,” Jill Biden’s director of communications Elizabeth Alexander She said.
Alexander said the commander went through the dog’s training and consultations with animal behaviorists before the decision was made to let the dog live with other family members in the fall.
Related Link: 5 Things You May Not Know About Joe Biden
Because it is important: Presidents owning pets is nothing new for all but two presidents: James K. Polk AND Donald Trump – have pets while in the White House. Dogs are the most common presidential pet with 33 out of 45 presidents owning at least one.
Trump became the first president since William McKinley not to own a dog while in the White House, breaking a streak of more than 100 years.
The Secret Service had to change tactics to protect Biden and keep safe from potential dog attacks, which may have been a distraction. Given the scope of the 2024 election, removing the commander from the White House was probably a difficult but correct choice by the Bidens.
Past history showed John Quincy Adams AND Herbert Hoover Owned pet alligators. Theodore Roosevelt he owned more than a dozen different animals while in office, including a black bear, a badger, a snake, and a hyena.
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Photo: Biden, Shutterstock; Commander, official White House photo by Adam Schultz (public domain)