Biden and the wise German Shepard
On November 28, 2020, then-President-elect Biden
fractured his foot while playing with Major. Biden said in an interview that Major was waiting to play after the president-elect emerged from a shower: "I'm joking, running after him and grab his tail. And what happened was that he slid on a throw rug. And I tripped on the rug he slid on."
On March 8, 2021, Major and
Champ, Biden's other German Shepherd, were temporarily moved to live with a family friend in Delaware after a minor incident in which Major nipped a security guard. Major has been known for displaying agitated behavior on multiple occasions, in the past including "jumping, barking, and charging" at staff and security. Joe Biden noted in an interview that the bite did not penetrate the skin. They returned to the White House on March 24 after Major received some training, including training on how to live with
a future cat that the Bidens adopted in the White House. On March 30, Major was involved in a second biting incident at the White House, having bitten a
National Park Service employee during a walk.
Major is not the first presidential dog to have biting incidents. In separate incidents,
Franklin D. Roosevelt's dog, also a German Shepherd named
Major, bit
United States Senator Hattie Wyatt Caraway, and attacked
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Ramsay MacDonald, tearing MacDonald's pants off.
Theodore Roosevelt's
bull terrier Pete bit numerous people, even tearing the pants off of
ambassador of France to the United States Jean Jules Jusserand.
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