Topline
President Joe Biden’s German shepherd, Commander, has bitten Secret Service personnel on no less than 24 events, in response to paperwork obtained by CNNincluding to a troubling sequence of incidents involving the president’s canine.
CQ-Roll Call, Inc through Getty Images
Key Facts
Commander, Biden’s two-year-old German shepherd, has been concerned in incidents with uniformed Secret Service personnel and members of Biden’s protecting element, in response to data CNN obtained by way of a Freedom of Information Act request.
Those assaults compelled Secret Service personnel to vary their office habits to keep away from additional accidents, in response to the report, which included an e mail from an nameless agent who mentioned the “recent canine bites have challenged us to regulate our operational ways when Commander is current.â€
The incidents have occurred on the White House, in addition to Biden’s houses in Rehoboth Beach and Wilmington, Delaware, in addition to Nantucket, Massachusetts, the place the Bidens have spent their final two Thanksgiving holidays, and at Camp David.
Those 24 incidents don’t embrace earlier incidents involving Commander that CNN had reported, whereas a report revealed final July by conservative watchdog Judicial Watch listed no less than 10 extra situations, together with one which compelled a uniformed officer to hunt therapy at a close-by hospital.
Secret Service communications chief Anthony Guglielmi instructed Forbes personnel have been “navigating how greatest to function in an surroundings that features household pets for a lot of presidential administrations,†including that the incidents with Commander had been handled as office accidents.
A supply near the Biden household instructed CNN the Bidens really feel “awful†and “heartbroken†in regards to the incidents.
Key Background
The Bidens took in Commander as a puppy in December 2021 as a present from Joe Biden’s brother James, 5 months after one other German shepherd they owned, Champ, died at 13. Since bringing Commander to the White House, nonetheless, he has exhibited “extraordinarily aggressive habits,†in response to a Uniform Division officer’s e mail obtained by Judicial Watch. Some of the incidents detailed in studies obtained by Judicial Watch took place whereas Commander was roaming unleashed, when First Lady Jill Biden mentioned she “couldn’t regain control†of the German shepherd. In September, a photo taken by a vacationer visiting the White House confirmed Commander biting a White House groundskeeper. A spokesperson for Jill Biden introduced in October that Commander was not dwelling on the White House, saying the household would make a willpower as to the place to maintain their pet.
Tangent
In March 2021, the Bidens despatched one other German shepherd, three-year-old Major, to their Delaware home after the canine began behaving aggressively and at occasions charged towards White House employees. The household had adopted Major from a shelter in 2018.
Further Reading
Biden’s Dog Bit Secret Service Officers At Least 10 Times, Records Show (Forbes)
Biden’s Dog Removed From White House After Biting Incidents (Forbes)
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