US President Joe Biden’s dog Commander was removed from the White House following a series of incidents when it bit staff there, including Secret Service officers.
The first lady’s spokeswoman Jill Biden Elizabeth Alexander said Joe Biden and his wife are very concerned about the safety of the White House staff and those who protect them every day.
– They are grateful for the patience and support of the secret services USA and all people involved. (…) The White House can be a stressful environment for family pets, she explained. As she said, Commander “is not currently on the White House grounds.”
Alexander did not specify where the two-year-old German shepherd was sent. He was last seen Saturday on the upper balcony of the White House, according to the AP.
Joe Biden and his dog CommanderAdam Schultz/White House / Zuma Press / Forum
The spokeswoman’s statement came hours after White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked at a news conference about new information that a dog had bitten a White House staffer.
He attacked service officers
– The last incident in which Commander bit a uniformed Secret Service agent in the White House occurred on September 25. He was treated on site by medical services, said Anthony Guglielmi, head of communications for the services.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the shepherd dog bit or otherwise attacked secret service officers at least 10 times between October 2022 and January 2023. In one case, this required treatment of the injured person in hospital.
Commander is the second of the president’s dogs in the White House to behave aggressively, including biting White House staff. The first German Shepherd, Major, was sent to the Bidens’ friends in Delaware.
Main photo source: Adam Schultz/White House / Zuma Press / Forum