Joe Biden’s dogs evicted from the White House after attacking staff

It’s been a dog of a year for Joe Biden, who had to show his German Shepherd the doggy door after it attacked White House staff and put some in hospital.

There’s an old saying in American politics: if you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.

Joe Biden sure could use some friends right now, as he trails Donald Trump in the polls and faces an impeachment inquiry. 

But the commander-in-chief is notably without Commander, his German Shepherd that has been shown the doggy door at the White House.

The two-year-old dog became canine non grata at the world’s most secure home in October after attacking Secret Service agents on multiple occasions, according to an extraordinary cache of secret emails. And if that wasn’t rough enough for Biden, Commander was in fact the second dangerous dog he had to have removed.

Americans have long been fascinated by presidential pets, the cats and dogs that often help to humanise their powerful owners. After the departure of Donald Trump – the first pet-less modern president – the spotlight shone particularly brightly on Champ and Major, the two German Shepherds which first moved into the White House with the Biden family.

First dogs Champ and Major Biden are seen on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 25, 2021. Picture: JIM WATSON / AFP

However, for the President and his wife Jill, their pets have prompted mostly negative news, forcing them to sacrifice their companionship to ensure the safety of their staff.

Major was the first shelter dog to live in the White House, having been adopted as a puppy by the Bidens in a bid to give the older Champ a new lease on life. The First Lady said at the time that she was “obsessed with getting our dogs settled” in the unfamiliar environment.

“They have to take the elevator, they’re not used to that, and they have to go out on the South Lawn with lots of people watching them,” she said.

Unfortunately, Major did not respond well. He charged at and jumped on staff and bit a Secret Service agent, prompting White House officials to warn the Bidens they could face a lawsuit if they did not take action.

Major was sent to stay with the family’s friends for training, even as the President maintained he was “a sweet dog” and that “85 per cent of the people (at the White House) love him”.

“All he does is lick them and wag his tail,” Biden said, as he defended Major’s aggressive behaviour.

“He turned a corner, there’s two people he doesn’t know at all, and they move to protect.”

Privately, Biden was also suspicious of the Secret Service’s report about the biting incident, according to a book by Chris Whipple. He wrote that the President “wasn’t buying the details” because agents did not usually patrol the location where the attack occurred.

“Somebody was lying, Biden thought, about the way the incident had gone down,” Whipple reported.

The First Lady’s spokesman Michael LaRosa described this time as a “jarring experience” for the Bidens, as 13-year-old Champ also died in June 2021. By the end of that year, they decided Major could not return to the White House, a decision they confirmed while announcing that Commander – a gift from the President’s brother James – was moving in.

US President Joe Biden and US First Lady Jill Biden with their dog Commander. Picture: SAUL LOEB / AFP

On his Instagram page, the puppy appeared to be settling in well, patrolling the gardens and napping in the Oval Office. But Commander was not man’s best friend to the Secret Service.

In July this year, conservative group Judicial Watch published 194 pages of records which revealed Commander had attacked 10 agents, some of whom were rushed to hospital.

Several agents managed to ward off the “extremely aggressive” dog with chairs and carts, while others were not so lucky, reporting injuries that caused a “considerable amount of pain” to the men and women trained to take a bullet for America’s commander-in-chief.

In a series of emails, an injured agent said that it felt like they were “in a dog fight”. Their colleague replied: “What a joke. If it wasn’t their dog he would have already been put down – freaking clown needs a muzzle.”

CNN revealed in October that Commander had also been sent away after even more incidents involving staff at the residence. Anonymous whistleblowers claimed the dog made their workplace “hostile” and “dangerous”.

Commander has been sent to the doghouse. Picture: Instagram

Elizabeth Alexander, a spokeswoman for the Bidens, maintained they cared “deeply about the safety of those who work at the White House and those who protect them every day”.

“They remain grateful for the patience and support of the US Secret Service and all involved as they continued to work through solutions,” she said.

But Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton said Commander could not come back from the doghouse because “the dangerous dog could kill someone”.

Biden, it must be said, is not the first president to have his pets make the White House’s workers barking mad.

More than a century ago, Theodore Roosevelt’s bull terrier Pete attacked not just staff and security, but politicians, bureaucrats and diplomats, even forcing one to hide in a tree.

Franklin D. Roosevelt – one of Biden’s presidential role models – also had a German Shepherd named Major, which ripped the pants of British prime minister Ramsay MacDonald during a prestigious state visit and had to be sent away to live in New York.

Biden can at least count himself lucky that Major and Commander have not caused such a diplomatic incident. But in the White House, he cannot escape the fact that journalism’s most famous aphorism does not apply – “dog bites man” is still guaranteed to make the headlines.