Joe Biden’s win as the president of the United States of America is also a great victory for dogs everywhere. After many years, dogs are back in the White House. For this term, the official home of the head of state also welcomes the first-ever shelter dog as one of its residents.
While the dog of former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s daughter is credited as the first furbaby to reside in the White House, President Biden’s German Shepherd, Major, is the first shelter dog owned by a first family. The said pup was adopted by the Biden family in 2018. Rescued from a neglectful household as a puppy, Major has been with the Delaware Humane Association for a long time.
According to the marketing manager of the Delaware Humane Association, Cory Topel, Major, and his brothers and sisters were in bad shape when the volunteers rescued them. Thanks to a partner veterinary services group, the puppies were given the medical attention they badly needed.
Fast forward two years later, each puppy in the litter was finally adopted, including playful Major, who won the hearts of the Bidens with her sweet demeanor. Major and the family’s other German Shepherd, twelve-year-old Champ, are now the official White House pets. While the residence had their fair share of favorite fur babies, (Reagan’s Lucky, Obama’s Bo, Bush’s Millie, among others) having Major and Champ at the house brought back a hundred-year-old tradition.
According to Cory, animal welfare workers like him missed celebrating National Cat Day and National Dog Day. He added that former President Trump held neither, temporarily losing the spark of hope for rescue animals across the country. Good thing pets are now back in the White House. Major and Champ’s presence shows how the highest elected official of the state cares about shelter animals and their welfare.
In a statement, President Joe Biden expressed his love for his amazing dogs, referring to them as his “friends.” With his stressful job, he turns to Major and Champ to ease off tension and pressure. With all the hopes of change by the new administration, Major, the first-ever shelter dog in the White House, looks brightly into a promising future for him and the other shelter dogs in the country.
credits: @firstdogsusa via Instagram