President’s pooches move into White House
The Biden White House is officially home sweet home: The president’s dogs, Major and Champ, have moved in and are already exploring their new digs.
First lady Jill Biden’s office posted pictures Monday of her with older German shepherd Champ and younger shepherd Major frolicking on the South Lawn on Sunday.
“Champ and Major have joined us in the White House!” said the tweet adorned with red hearts and paw prints.
“Champ is enjoying his new dog bed by the fireplace and Major loved running around on the South Lawn,” said Michael LaRosa, the first lady’s spokesman, in an email to USA TODAY.
LaRosa said the pets, the first dogs in the White House since Portuguese water dogs Bo and Sunny left in 2017 with the Obamas, moved in Sunday, thus reviving a tradition of presidential pets broken under former President Donald Trump, who isn’t a dog lover.
“The First Family wanted to get settled before bringing the dogs down to Washington from Delaware,” LaRosa said.
The photos in the tweet and also on the dogs’ Instagram account were taken by the Bidens’ White House photographer, Adam Schultz, and posted by LaRosa.
The pooch pictures were gathering likes, with more than 900 on Instagram as of 1 p.m. EST Monday, and climbing.
Champ is the oldest at 12, and sometimes goes by the affectionate nickname Biden Sr., bestowed by the Biden grandchildren.
Major, adopted by the Bidens from a shelter in 2018, will be the first rescue dog to live in the White House.
Major and Champ featured most recently in the Bidens’ Christmas video, which showed Champ relaxing under a Christmas tree while energetic Major raced around him and contrasting versions of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” played in the background.