Key PointsJoe Biden’s dog Commander has attacked Secret Service personnel at least 10 times, according to newly released recordsCommander, a German Sheperd, is the second dog of Biden’s to behave aggressively.Communications director for first lady Jill Biden said that the White House is a “stressful environment” for pets.
US President Joe Biden’s dog Commander bit or otherwise attacked Secret Service personnel at least 10 times between October 2022 and January, including one incident that required a hospital visit by the injured law enforcement officer, according to records from the Department of Homeland Security.
The Judicial Watch watchdog group on Tuesday released nearly 200 pages of Secret Service records that it obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
The group said it filed suit after the agency, a division of DHS, “failed to respond adequately” to its request last December for records about biting incidents involving the purebred German shepherd.
The group said it filed the request after receiving a tip about Commander’s behaviour.
A Major irritation for staff
Commander is the second dog of Biden’s to behave aggressively, including biting Secret Service personnel and White House staff.
They eventually sent the dog, a German shepherd named Major, to live with friends in Delaware after those incidents.
The White House and the Secret Service appeared to play down the situation on Tuesday but the latest incidents raise questions about why the Bidens brought another German shepherd to the executive mansion and why the attacks continued.
Elizabeth Alexander, communications director for first lady Jill Biden, said in an email that the White House complex is a “unique and often stressful environment” for family pets and that the Biden family was “working through ways to make this situation better for everyone”.
US President Joe Biden received Commander in December 2021 as a gift from his brother James. Source: EPA / Michael Reynolds/EPA
Anthony Guglielmi, chief spokesman for the Secret Service, said in a separate email that his agency has for the past several presidents “navigated how best to operate around family pets and these incidents are no exception. We take the safety and wellbeing of our employees extremely seriously”.
The Secret Service provides security protection for the president and his family, and scores of its officers are posted around the executive mansion and its sprawling grounds.
Biden received Commander in December 2021 as a gift from his brother James.
The family also has a cat, Willow.
A history of violence
On November 3, 2022, a Secret Service official emailed colleagues that Commander had bitten a uniformed officer twice – on the upper right arm and thigh.
Staff from the White House medical unit treated the officer and decided to have the individual taken to a hospital.
A captain of the Uniform Division emailed later that day that he had been advised that Commander was up to date on his vaccinations.
A note the following day added details about the attack, including that the officer who was bitten used a steel cart to protect himself from another attack.
The officer later was placed on several days of restricted duty based on doctors’ advice.
Alexander said the Bidens have been working with the Secret Service and the White House residence staff “on additional leashing protocols and training” for Commander as well as establishing designated areas where he can run around for exercise.
