Following a slew of bite occurrences involving U.S. government employees,
Secret Service agents and White House staff, Commander, and President Joe Biden’s dog are “not currently on the White House campus.”
According to a statement made by Jill Biden, the first lady, late on Wednesday, Biden
and his wife are particularly concerned about the safety of White House employees and those who look out for them every day, according to the first lady’s communications director, Elizabeth Alexander.
They are still appreciative of American patience and assistance. “Commander is not currently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated,” she added in an email statement.
She thanked the Secret Service and everyone involved for their continued cooperation.
Where the dog was sent was not specified by Alexander. The 2-year-old German shepherd dog was last seen on the White House’s upper balcony on Saturday.
Following a question on a recent allegation that the commander bit a White House employee during Wednesday’s daily briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made the comment.
Jean-Pierre addressed inquiries to the first lady’s office, which stated that Commander and Dale Haney, the head groundskeeper at the White House, were playing when the incident that was captured on camera by a tourist and shared with a news outlet and later posted online didn’t result in any injuries to skin.
The most recent biting incident involving Commander occurred on September 25. According to USSS Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi, a Secret Service officer in uniform was bitten at the White House that evening and was attended to by medical staff on the scene.
In that statement, Alexander noted that “the White House can be a stressful environment for family pets” and that the Bidens were still “working on ways to help Commander handle the often unpredictable nature of the White House grounds.”
Records from the Department show that between October 2022 and January 2022, the German shepherd purebred bit or otherwise assaulted Secret Service officers on at least ten more occasions, including one incident that necessitated the injured law enforcement official visiting the hospital.
The second of Biden’s dogs to act aggressively at the White House, including biting Secret Service agents and staff members, is Commander.
After those occurrences, they ultimately sent the first dog, a German shepherd named Major, to be with friends in Delaware.
Numerous Secret Service agents are stationed all around the presidential palace and its expansive grounds to offer security protection for the president and his family.
In December 2021, Biden received Commander as a gift from his brother James. Willow, the family’s cat, is another pet.
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