Commander, President Joe Biden's German shepherd, oversees the National Thanksgiving Turkey Pardoning on the South Lawn of the White House. Photo / Getty Images
Commander, President Joe Biden's German shepherd, oversees the National Thanksgiving Turkey Pardoning on the South Lawn of the White House. Photo / Getty Images
Joe and Jill Biden’s dog Commander bit or attacked Secret Service agents at least 10 times in four months.
One incident was so serious it required the injured agent to be treated in hospital, according to records from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Commander bit the agent on the thigh and arm during the attack on November 3 last year.
The German shepherd tore the skin of a different Secret Service agent’s hand and arm weeks later, after the president unleashed Commander outside the White House following a family movie night.
In January, the dog bit and “latched on” to a security technician, this time at the Bidens’ home in Wilmington, Delaware.
President Joe Biden's dog Commander (centre) watches from the doorway of the White House as Joe Biden prepares to board the Marine One helicopter. Photo / AP
The agent who required hospital treatment had been sitting on a stairwell in the White House when they encountered the canine.
The dog came down the stairs, headed towards the agent and sank its teeth into the agent’s tricep.
When the agent stood up, Commander bit down on the agent’s leg. The agent then used a steel cart to protect himself from another attack.
The agent was placed on several days of restricted duty based on doctors’ advice.
Two days later, the victim emailed in response to a colleague’s concern: “My leg and arm still hurts. He bit me twice and ran at me twice.”
The colleague replied: “What a joke... if it wasn’t their dog he would already have been put down - freaking clown needs a muzzle.”
Commander is the second of the Bidens’ pet dogs to exhibit behavioural problems.
President Joe Biden waves to members of the media. Photo / AP
Another German shepherd, Major, was ultimately banished from the White House after biting a Secret Service agent.
The records detailing Commander’s biting incidents were obtained by the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch on Tuesday following a Freedom of Information Act (FOI) lawsuit.
The group took legal action after the Secret Service agency, a division of the DHS, “failed to respond adequately” to its FOI request last December.
It said the incidents raised questions about why the Bidens brought another German shepherd to the executive mansion and why the attacks continued.
Elizabeth Alexander, communications director for First Lady Jill Biden, said that the family was “working through ways to make this situation better for everyone”, including additional leashing protocols and training for Commander.
“The President and First Lady are incredibly grateful to the Secret Service and executive residence staff for all they do to keep them, their family and the country safe,” Alexander added.
Anthony Guglielmi, chief spokesman for the Secret Service, said his agency has “navigated how best to operate around family pets” for the past several presidents.
“As such, we are aware of past incidents involving First Family pets and these instances were treated similarly to comparable workplace injuries,” he said.
“While special agents and officers neither care for nor handle the first family’s pets,” he said, “we take the safety and wellbeing of our employees extremely seriously.”
The Bidens received Commander in December 2021 as a gift from the president’s brother James.
They also have a cat, Willow, who appears to have better manners.
