President Biden’s dogs back at White House after ruff start

Josh Boak/AP

4 years ago

First dogs Champ and Major Biden are seen on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 25, 2021. - Joe Biden's dogs Champ and Major have moved into the White House, reviving a long-standing tradition of presidential pets that was broken under Donald Trump. The pooches can be seen trotting on the White House grounds in pictures retweeted by First Lady Jill Biden's spokesman Michael LaRosa, with the pointed obelisk of the Washington Monument in the background."Champ is enjoying his new dog bed by the fireplace, and Major loved running around on the South Lawn," LaRosa told CNN in a statement on January 25, 2021. (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s dogs — Champ and Major — are roaming the White House again, after having been sent to Delaware when Major, the younger dog, injured a Secret Service agent.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at the Wednesday briefing that the dogs met the Bidens last weekend at Camp David in Maryland and came back to Washington on Sunday.

The dogs had been in the Biden’s home state of Delaware, where Major received some additional training after having been startled by a Secret Service agent who received a minor injury from the fracas. One of the two German shepherds waited on the balcony of the White House on Tuesday evening as Marine One landed on the South Lawn, having ferried the president back from a speech in Columbus, Ohio.

“The dogs will come and go and it will not be uncommon for them to head back to Delaware on occasion as the president and first lady often do as well,” Psaki said.