OCTOBER 5, 2023:
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s dog, Commander, is “not presently on the White House campus” following a series of biting incidents involving White House staff and U.S. Secret Service officers, a spokesperson for first lady Jill Biden said late Wednesday (Oct. 4, 2023).
Elizabeth Alexander, the first lady’s communications director, said Biden and his wife care deeply about the safety of White House staff and those who protect them every day.
“They remain grateful for the patience and support of the U.S. Secret Service and all involved, as they continue to work through solutions,” she said in an emailed statement, adding, “Commander is not presently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated.”
Alexander did not say where the dog was sent. The 2-year-old German shepherd was last seen Saturday on an upper balcony of the White House.
The statement came hours after White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked Wednesday’s daily briefing about a fresh allegation that Commander had bitten a White House staffer.
Jean-Pierre referred questions to the first lady’s office, which said Commander and Dale Haney, the head groundskeeper at the White House, were playing and that no skin was broken in an incident that was photographed by a tourist and shared with a news organization, which published the image online.
Commander had been involved in a series of biting incidents, most recently on Sept. 25. A uniformed Secret Service officer was bitten at the White House that night and was treated by on-site by medical personnel, said USSS chief of communications Anthony Guglielmi.
Alexander said at the time that “the White House can be a stressful environment for family pets” and that the Bidens were continuing to “work on ways to help Commander handle the often unpredictable nature of the White House grounds.”
The German shepherd purebred has bit or otherwise attacked Secret Service personnel at least 10 other times between October 2022 and January, including one incident that required a hospital visit by the injured law enforcement officer, according to records from the Department of Homeland Security.
Commander is the second of Biden’s dogs at the White House that behaved aggressively, including biting Secret Service personnel and White House staff. They eventually sent the first dog, a German shepherd named Major, to live with friends in Delaware after those incidents.
The Secret Service provides security protection for the president and his family, and scores of its officers are posted around the executive mansion and its sprawling grounds.
Commander was a gift to Biden in December 2021 from his brother James. The family also has a cat, Willow.
JULY 25, 2023:
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden ‘s dog Commander bit Secret Service officers at least 10 times between October 2022 and January, including one incident that required a trip to the hospital for an injured law enforcement officer, according to records from the Department of Homeland Security.
The conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch on Tuesday (July 25, 2023) released nearly 200 pages of Secret Service records that it obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The group said it filed suit after the agency, a division of DHS, “failed to respond adequately” to its request last December for records about biting incidents involving the purebred German shepherd. The group said it filed the request after receiving a tip about Commander’s behavior.
The White House and the Secret Service appeared to play down the situation on Tuesday.
Elizabeth Alexander, communications director for first lady Jill Biden, said in an email that the White House complex is a “unique and often stressful environment” for family pets and that the Biden family was “working through ways to make this situation better for everyone.”
Anthony Guglielmi, chief spokesperson for the Secret Service, said in a separate email that his agency has for the past several presidents “navigated how best to operate around family pets and these incidents are no exception. We take the safety and wellbeing of our employees extremely seriously.”
The Secret Service provides security protection for the president and his family, and scores of its officers are posted around the executive mansion and its sprawling grounds.
Biden received Commander in December 2021 as a gift from his brother James. The president’s previous dog, another German shepherd named Major, had been sent to live with friends in Delaware after some biting incidents of his own involving Secret Service officers and White House staff.
The family also has a cat, Willow.
On Nov. 3, 2022, a Secret Service official emailed colleagues that Commander had bitten a uniformed officer twice — on the upper right arm and thigh. Staff from the White House medical unit treated the officer and decided to have the individual taken to a hospital.
A captain of the Uniform Division emailed later that day that he had been advised that Commander was up to date on his vaccinations.
A note the following day added details about the attack, including that the officer who was bitten used a steel cart to protect himself from another attack. The officer later was placed on several days of restricted duty based on doctors’ advice.
Alexander said the Bidens have been working with the Secret Service and the White House residence staff “on additional leashing protocols and training” for Commander, as well as establishing designated areas where he can run around for exercise.
“The president and first lady are incredibly grateful to the Secret Service and Executive Residence staff for all they do to keep them, their family and the country safe,” Alexander added.
Guglielmi said Secret Service employees are encouraged to report job-related injuries to their immediate supervisors for appropriate documentation.
“As such, we are aware of past incidents involving first-family pets and these instances were treated similarly to comparable workplace injuries, to include with relevant notifications and reporting procedures followed,” he said.
“While special agents and officers neither care for nor handle the first family’s pets, we continuously work with all applicable entities to minimize adverse impacts in an environment that includes pets,” Guglielmi added.
Commander is often seen being handled by the White House’s chief groundskeeper.
The New York Post was first to report on Commander’s biting incidents.
DECEMBER 1, 2020:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Major Biden is getting an early start in the spotlight as a presidential pet after a play date ended with his owner, President-elect Joe Biden, suffering a broken foot. As if that weren’t enough for one weekend, it was also confirmed that Major will have to share the White House with, of all things, a cat. In a few weeks, Major, along with fellow German shepherd Champ and the yet-to-be-determined feline are expected to make the move to the White House. Their arrival will also mark a return to a long history of pets residing at the White House after a four-year hiatus during the Trump administration.
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