Commander Biden bites another Secret Service employee at the White House

Team Udayavani, Sep 27, 2023, 11:13 AM IST

President Joe Biden’s dog Commander has bitten another US Secret Service employee.

A uniformed division officer was bitten by the dog around 8 pm on Monday at the White House, and was treated on-site by medical personnel, said USSS chief of communications Anthony Guglielmi. The officer is doing just fine, he said.

Elizabeth Alexander, communications director for first lady Jill Biden, said “the White House can be a stressful environment for family pets, and the first family continues to work on ways to help Commander handle the often unpredictable nature of the White House grounds”.

She said the Bidens are “incredibly grateful to the Secret Service and Executive Residence staff for all they do to keep them, their family, and the country safe”.

The German Shepherd purebred has bit or otherwise attacked Secret Service personnel at least 10 other 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.

Commander is the second dog of Biden’s to behave aggressively, including biting Secret Service personnel and White House staff. They eventually sent the first dog, a German shepherd named Major, to live with friends in Delaware after those incidents.

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.