WASHINGTON (AP) – Paw patting is being heard at the White House again after President Joe Biden’s Champ and Major dogs arrive. The two German shepherds are the first pets to live in the executive mansion since the Obama administration.
Major burst onto the national scene last year after Biden, then President-elect, broke his right foot while playing with the dog at his home in Wilmington, Delaware.
Bidens adopted Major in 2018 from the Delaware Humane Association. Champ joined the family after the 2008 presidential election that made Joe Biden vice president.
The dogs moved into the White House on Sunday after Biden took office last week.
“The first family wanted to settle before bringing the dogs from Delaware to Washington,” said Michael LaRosa, spokesman for First Lady Jill Biden. “Champ is enjoying his new dog bed by the fireplace and Major loved to run on the south lawn.”
The dogs were heard barking outside near the Oval Office on Monday, while Biden signed an executive order. lifting of the previous government’s ban on transgender people serving in the armed forces.
Last week, the Delaware Humane Association co-sponsored a virtual “indoguration” fundraiser to celebrate Major’s journey from puppy to shelter to first dog. More than $ 200,000 has been raised.
Major is the first shelter dog to live in the White House and “latent proof that every dog can live the American dream,” said the association.
The Bidens had promised to take the dogs with them to the White House. They plan to add a cat, although no updates on the cat’s arrival were shared on Monday.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki predicted, while answering questions from the audience on video, that the cat will “dominate the internet” when it arrives.
Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, a self-describing germaphobe, has no pets and had none with him at the White House.
As with ordinary people, pets belonging to the most powerful people in the world provide their owners with comfort, entertainment, occasional drama and good public relations.
“Pets have played an important role in the White House over the decades, not only by providing company for presidents and their families, but also by humanizing and softening their political images,” said Jennifer Pickens, author of a book on animals at the White House.
Pets are also ambassadors for the White House, she said. Pickens added that he hopes that Bidens’ decision to bring a rescue dog to the White House will inspire others to adopt.
President Theodore Roosevelt had Skip, who is described by the White House Historical Association as a “short-legged black and brown mongrel terrier brought in from a Colorado bear hunt.” Warren G. Harding had Menininho, who attended meetings and had his own office chair. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was with his beloved Fala terrier. At night, Fala slept in a special chair at the foot of the president’s bed.
More recently, George HW Bush’s English springer spaniel, Millie, was featured in “The Simpsons” and starred in a bestseller, “Millie’s Book: as the saying goes to Barbara Bush”. Hillary Clinton followed Bush’s example with a children’s book about the Buddy family dog and the Socks cat: “Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Children’s letters for the first pets.”
When he declared victory in the 2008 presidential race, Barack Obama said to his daughters, “You won the new puppy that is going with us to the White House.” Several months later, Bo joined the family, a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy. A few years later, the Portuguese water dog Sunny arrived.
Among the White House’s strange pets were Calvin Coolidge and Rebecca, First Lady Grace Coolidge’s raccoon. It was given to the Coolidge family by a supporter who suggested that the raccoon be served at Thanksgiving dinner, according to the White House Historical Association. Instead, she got an embroidered collar titled “White House Raccoon” and entertained the kids on the White House Easter Egg Roll.
Some notable pets belonged to their first children, including Amy Carter’s Siamese cat, Misty Malarky Ying Yang and Caroline Kennedy’s Macaroni pony. The Kennedy family had a real zoo, complete with dogs, cats, birds, hamsters and a rabbit named Zsa Zsa.
President Harry Truman said the famous phrase “If you want a friend in Washington, buy a dog” – and many successors followed Truman’s advice. The first President Bush once said, “There is nothing like a dog’s unconditional love to help him overcome the difficult points.”
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Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.