President Joe Biden’s dog Commander bit Secret Service agents at least 24 times within the span of nine months, according to a new cache of records released on Tuesday.
Between October 2022 and July 2023, Commander, who was 2 years old at the time, champed at Secret Service agents in at least two dozen incidents at the White House and Camp David, some of which resulted in injuries that required medical attention, documents show.
The recent dog bites have challenged us to adjust our operational tactics.
“The recent dog bites have challenged us to adjust our operational tactics when Commander is present — please give lots of room (staying a terrain feature away if possible),” an assistant special agent in charge wrote in an email in June 2023. “We will continue to keep [redacted] in our sight but must be creative to ensure our own personal safety.”
The documents were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by researcher John Greenewald Jr., who runs a website called The Black Vault. The Secret Service confirmed the records’ authenticity to The New York Times.
The records show that officials, whose names have been redacted, exchanged tips on how to deal with Commander. Some also expressed concern that he could bite others, and they informed each other when he was off-leash.
The Bidens’ dogs have not been happy at the White House. The family first adopted Commander, a German shepherd, as a puppy in December 2021, but he was removed from the White House in October of last year and sent to live with other family members after a series of biting incidents.
Commander was the second of the president’s dogs to be sent away. Major, also a German shepherd, was similarly moved out of the White House for training in April 2021 and later sent to live with friends after — guess what? — biting multiple people.