2 dogs — and a new president — move into the White House

When Joe and Jill Biden move into the White House on Wednesday as president and first lady, they’ll bring with them two German shepherds, Champ and Major.

It’s been four years since a dog has lived in the White House. Donald Trump was the first president not to have a pet in more than a century.

Warren G. Harding’s Laddie, an Airedale terrier, had his own Cabinet chair.

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s black Scottie, Fala, starred in two films and gave up his toys to promote a rubber collection drive during World War II.

A first-person narrative from Millie, Barbara and George H.W. Bush’s English springer spaniel, outsold her owners’ memoirs.

Historically, a first dog is a sure source of goodwill and positive publicity, said Clive Wynne, an Arizona State University psychology professor and director of the Canine Science Collaboratory.

“Here is a person who is capable of warmth and affection and love and is not afraid of showing people that side of themselves,” Wynne said.

Having a dog doesn’t make you a good person, Wynne said. Adolf Hitler had a dog.

“Dog’s love for people is so boundless, they are almost no judge of character,” Wynne said.

But if someone likes dogs — and 53 percent of American households own one — they might feel an affinity to a dog-loving president.

The Bidens adopted Major in 2018 from the Delaware Humane Association.

He’s the first shelter dog to live in the White House, but not the first rescue.

President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Yuki was a terrier mix rescued by Johnson’s daughter.

Any dog reminds us the White House is a home. It creates a sense of stability.

“For the vast majority of people, it will be one of the ways that Biden is returning the nation to normality,” Wynne said.

“He’s keeping calm and carrying on. I think the dogs are part of it.”