Commander, a 2-year-old German shepherd, bit a Secret Service officer last week, the 11th incident involving “aggressive behavior” by the president’s pets.
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President Biden’s dog Commander on the White House’s Truman Balcony in May.
President Biden’s dog Commander is no longer living at the White House after a series of biting incidents involving staff members and Secret Service personnel, according to a spokeswoman for Jill Biden, the first lady.
Elizabeth Alexander, Dr. Biden’s communications director, said the dog was no longer living with the first family.
“Commander is not presently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated,” Ms. Alexander said in a statement.
The move came days after Commander, a 2-year-old German shepherd, bit a Secret Service officer. It was the 11th episode of “aggressive behavior” by the president’s pets, many of them involving Commander and the officers and agents who protect the president.
One of Mr. Biden’s other dogs, Major, was sent to live away from the White House soon after the president took office because of what was described at the time as a “biting incident” with a White House staff member.
In her statement, Ms. Alexander said the president and the first lady “care deeply about the safety of those who work at the White House and those who protect them every day.”
She added, “They remain grateful for the patience and support of the U.S. Secret Service and all involved as they continue to work through solutions.”
Ms. Alexander did not say where Commander was currently living or when he might return to the White House.
Internal emails obtained by a conservative activist group and released to the public this summer documented 10 instances of “aggressive behavior” by the president’s pets.
In one of those episodes, an agent was left “shaken,” according to the emails, when Commander began barking at him from the top of a White House staircase and he felt the need to hoist the chair he was sitting on to use as a shield.
Secret Service agents are not responsible for the president’s pets, but they frequently find themselves near the dogs as they patrol the White House grounds or carry out their duties as protectors of the president and his family.
In July, after another episode involving Commander, Anthony Guglielmi, the agency’s chief of communications, said that it was sometimes unavoidable for the agents to be in close quarters with the pets.
“While special agents and officers neither care for nor handle the first family’s pets, we continuously work with all applicable entities to minimize adverse impacts in an environment that includes pets,” he said.
After Commander bit the Secret Service officer late last month, the dog was allowed to remain at the White House. At the time, Ms. Alexander blamed the dog’s behavior on the stress of living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
“As we’ve noted before, 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.
Michael D. Shear is a White House correspondent for The New York Times, covering President Biden and his administration. He has reported on politics for more than 30 years. More about Michael D. Shear
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Source: nytimes.com
