One Secret Service agent required six stitches after a bite from Commander, who was exiled from the White House last October
: AP
Joe Biden’s dog Commander was involved in at least 24 biting incidents over 12 months, it has emerged.
The two-year-old German Shepherd was exiled from the White House last October and sent to an undisclosed location.
A freedom of information request by CNN laid bare the extent of the pet’s unruly behaviour.
The station received hundreds of documents which revealed that the dog’s behaviour was causing alarm among members of the Secret Service assigned to protect the US President.
“The recent dog bites have challenged us to adjust our operational tactics when Commander is present – please give lots of room,” one read.
Agents were told to be “creative to ensure our own personal safety”.
Commander remained at the White House for three months after that was sent.
In one incident, at the president’s beach house in Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, a Secret Service agent was bitten while walking in the backyard.
According to the report, the bite caused a severe open wound, with the agent losing a considerable amount of blood and requiring six stitches.
More than 10 other incidents required medical treatment.
Commander arrived at the White House as a puppy in 2021. He was a gift from Joe Biden’s younger brother, James.
He was the second of the Bidens’ dogs to be banished after Major, another German shepherd. He was sent to live with friends in Delaware.
He reportedly “nipped someone while on a walk” in March 2021, weeks after biting another member of the security team.
At the time, the White House press team said Major was “still adjusting to his new surroundings”.
Mr Biden insisted that Major, who was rescued from an animal shelter in 2018, was a “sweet dog”.
While he was president-elect, Mr Biden fractured his foot while playing with Major in Deleware. It required him to wear a walking boot for several months.
The Bidens believed that the dogs’ unruly behaviour had been triggered by the stressful White House environment.
Champ, who was always considered more docile, died in 2021 aged 13.
Pets have been a long tradition at the White House.
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