United States President Joe Biden's family dog, Commander, bit Secret Service agents 24 times at the White House and other locations, as per a report in CNN. The depth of the German Shepherd's chaos for the presidential bodyguards is documented in US Secret Service archives.
A senior agent observed that the Secret Service had altered its approach and advised officers to "give lots of room". A special agent in charge of the US Secret Service Presidential Protective Division wrote to their team in June 2023 and said, "The recent dog bites have challenged us to adjust our operational tactics when Commander is present - please give lots of room." He warned that agents "must be creative to ensure our own personal safety."
This warning came months before the dog was removed from the White House after multiple biting incidents were witnessed.
The new records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show that between October 2022 and July 2023, there were at least 24 instances of biting, with Secret Service agents being bitten on the wrist, forearm, elbow, waist, chest, thigh, and shoulder. Since the documents only cover the Secret Service and exclude employees of the White House and Camp David in Maryland, they may not include all incidents of biting by the German Shepherd.
As per the outlet, in October 2022, a Secret Service technician said they were "worried about the family pets behavior escalating and that ... something worse was going to happen to others."
In June 2023, an agent sustained a"deep bite" on the forearm and had to get stitches. The blood on the floor in an area of the White House caused tours of the East Wing of the building to be suspended for 20 minutes. Another agent had to have six stitches after being bitten in the hand in July. An email revealed that the agent "started to lose a significant amount of blood" after suffering a "severe deep open wound" from the bite.
Commander left the White House in October 2023, a week after an agent required medical treatment for a severe bite. The dog joined the family as a puppy in December 2021.
Elizabeth Alexander, First Lady Jill Biden's Communications Director, said in a statement to the outlet, "The president and first lady care deeply about the safety of those who work at the White House and those who protect them every day. Despite additional dog training, leashing, working with veterinarians, and consulting with animal behaviorists, the White House environment simply proved too much for Commander. Since the fall, he has lived with other family members."
Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for the US Secret Services said that the incidents involving Commander were "treated as workplace injuries". He said, "While Secret Service personnel neither handle nor care for the first family's pets, we work continuously with all applicable entities in order to minimize any adverse impacts from family pets."
