On Monday night, several reports said that the German Shepherd belonging to President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden was taken to Wilmington, Delaware last week after a “biting incident” involving a member of the White House security team.
Psaki confirmed the incident had caused injury to a staffer in a Tuesday press conference. Major “is still getting acclimated and accustomed to their surroundings and new people. And on Monday, the first family’s younger dog, Major, was surprised by an unfamiliar person and reacted in a way that resulted in a minor injury to the individual,” she said, adding that the White House medical unit took care of the unnamed injured individual.
The Bidens adopted Major, 3, from a local animal shelter in Delaware in late 2018. He is roughly 10 years younger than the first family’s other German Shepherd, Champ.
Psaki revealed that Major’s recent trip home to Delaware was not related to the biting incident, contrary to several reports released on Monday. She said that the trip was “previously planned” and family friends will look after the dog while Jill Biden is away visiting military bases.
“The dogs will return to the White House soon,” the White House press secretary added.
One reporter asked Psaki a dark question that seemed to have taken her off guard: “Can you also reassure the public that Major Biden will not be euthanized as a result of this?”
“Well, certainly, Major Biden is a member of the family, so I can assure you that,” she relied. “I don’t have any more details on the individual. I would encourage you to ask the Secret Service but I’m not going to have any more details other than that.”
Psaki also hinted that Major and Champ may be joined by a new White House cat soon. Asked by one reporter about the potential cat that Biden has been talking about, Psaki said, “Today is a good day for the cat. I don’t have any update on the cat. We know that the cat will break the internet, but I don’t have any update on its status.”
The public jumped to Major’s defense after Psaki’s remarks.
“If you’re a dog owner (particularly one who has rescued) you know this is such a tough situation. Dogs can be super sensitive to being in unfamiliar environments and over stimulated. Glad the person is ok and hope Major will be back soon,” tweeted CNN anchor, Abby D. Phillip.
