Major biting incident at White House

One of the Biden family dogs, a three-year-old German shepherd named Major, was involved in a second biting incident at the White House, it was reported on Tuesday.

According to CNN, the incident, which involved a National Park Service employee, took place on the White House South Lawn on Monday afternoon. The employee was working at the time and needed to stop in order to receive treatment from the White House medical unit.

Asked about this latest episode, first lady Jill Biden’s press secretary Michael LaRosa told CNN: “Yes, Major nipped someone on a walk. Out of an abundance of caution, the individual was seen by medical staff and then returned to work.”

On March 8, Major first found himself in the doghouse after biting a Secret Service employee at the White House. The employee’s injury was concerning enough to require treatment from members of the White House medical team.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki later downplayed the injury as “minor”, saying the incident was due to Major “getting acclimated” to his new home.

The German shepherd was “surprised by an unfamiliar person”, she said.

Following the incident, both Major and Champ, the Bidens’ other German shepherd, were sent to the president’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, but later returned to the White House.

In March, President Joe Biden called Major a “sweet dog” and said he was undergoing training.

“You turn a corner, and there’s two people you don’t know at all. And Major moves to protect. But he’s a sweet dog. 85% of the people there love him,” the president told ABC News. “He just – all he does is lick them and wag his tail. But I realise some people, understandably, are afraid of dogs to begin with.”

However, as CNN previously reported, “Major is known to display agitated behavior on multiple occasions, including jumping, barking, and ‘charging’ at staff and security.”

Major, whose bark may not actually be worse than his bite, was rescued and adopted by the Biden family in 2018.