Biden’s Dog Commander Bit Secret Service Agents At Least 24 Times

 

Commander, President Joe Biden's German shepherd, oversees the National Thanksgiving Turkey Pardoning on the South Lawn in 2022

KEY FACTS

Commander, Biden’s two-year-old German shepherd, has been involved in incidents with uniformed Secret Service personnel and members of Biden’s protective detail, according to records CNN obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Those attacks forced Secret Service personnel to change their workplace habits to avoid further injuries, according to the report, which included an email from an anonymous agent who said the “recent dog bites have challenged us to adjust our operational tactics when Commander is present.”

The incidents have occurred at the White House, as well as Biden’s homes in Rehoboth Beach and Wilmington, Delaware, as well as Nantucket, Massachusetts, where the Bidens have spent their last two Thanksgiving holidays, and at Camp David.

Those 24 incidents do not include previous incidents involving Commander that CNN had reported, while a report published last July by conservative watchdog Judicial Watch listed at least 10 more instances, including one that forced a uniformed officer to seek treatment at a nearby hospital.

Secret Service communications chief Anthony Guglielmi told Forbes personnel have been “navigating how best to operate in an environment that includes family pets for many presidential administrations,” adding that the incidents with Commander were treated as workplace injuries.

A source close to the Biden family told CNN the Bidens feel “awful” and “heartbroken” about the incidents.

KEY BACKGROUND

The Bidens took in Commander as a puppy in December 2021 as a gift from Joe Biden’s brother James, five months after another German shepherd they owned, Champ, died at 13. Since bringing Commander to the White House, however, he has exhibited “extremely aggressive behavior,” according to a Uniform Division officer’s email obtained by Judicial Watch. Some of the incidents detailed in reports obtained by Judicial Watch took place while Commander was roaming unleashed, when First Lady Jill Biden said she “couldn’t regain control” of the German shepherd. In September, a photo taken by a tourist visiting the White House showed Commander biting a White House groundskeeper. A spokesperson for Jill Biden announced in October that Commander was no longer living at the White House, saying the family would make a determination as to where to keep their pet.

TANGENT

In March 2021, the Bidens sent another German shepherd, three-year-old Major, to their Delaware home after the dog started behaving aggressively and at times charged toward White House staff. The family had adopted Major from a shelter in 2018.