Major Biden allows us to return to our obsession with DC dogs

It’s just over 50 days into his presidency and Joe Biden has already taken numerous steps to reverse actions from the Trump years, signing executive orders like they’re going out of fashion (more of which you can read about in The Independent’s recent Reddit AMA with our US team).

He’s rebuked Vladimir Putin, halted building of the border wall and rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement – a welcome return to order for some, and a hated reminder of the establishment for others. There’s one development which has united almost every American, though: dogs are back in the White House.

The Biden household has two German shepherds, Champ and Major, and they’re both rescue dogs. Since moving in to the most famous abode on Pennsylvania Avenue (and then swiftly back out again), the latter canine has been making headlines for causing a “minor injury” to a White House staff member.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki clarified the situation: “Major was surprised by an unfamiliar person and reacted in a way that resulted in a minor injury to the individual, which was handled by the White House medical unit with no further treatment needed.”

The president spoke out about the incident this week on Good Morning America, saying Major "did not bite someone and penetrate the skin”, while acknowledging that the pup is still adjusting to his new life in the limelight. Major and Champ have both temporarily returned to the Bidens’ former home in Delaware for extra training before being reintroduced to the scene of the crime.

The White House has an extensive history of pets, with dogs being the most popular of all among the public. From Lincoln’s mongrel Fido to Reagan’s Bouvier des Flandres Lucky to Obama’s famous Portuguese water dogs Sunny and Bo, presidents have had canine companions since George Washington.

Read more: All the executive orders Biden has signed

Around 67 per cent of American households also have a pet, with approximately 63 million of them having at least one dog, Clearly, having a dog around the Oval Office is a good way for a president to stay true to being a “man of the people”. The Covid pandemic has seen an even bigger boom in dog ownership across the country, too, with long waitlists at adoption centres as increasing numbers of workers find themselves signing in from home. I myself recently rehomed a dog (a Pomeranian called Nala, thank you for asking) and the positive impact on my mental health and wellbeing has been incredible. Simply put, Nala’s more of a difference than any therapy session or self-care method I’ve ever tried. 

No, a photogenic dog is nothing compared to thorough foreign policy, an effective vaccine rollout or addressing the crisis of police brutality, but it does bring a little comfort in trying times.

Major might not be the best-behaved pup out there –as Biden admits himself – but having dogs back in the White House (part-time or otherwise) seems symbolic of a return to pre-Trump times, something Nala and I would both be happy to raise our paws in the air about.

Yours,

Lucy Anna Gray

US audience editor