Meet Major: Joe Biden’s German Shepherd to be the first rescue dog in the White House

Biden's presidency will see dogs return to the White House for the first time in four years

Major, the pet of President-elect Joe Biden, is believed to be the first rescue dog in the White House. Courtesy Joe Biden

When president-elect Joe Biden takes up residence in the White House in January 2021, he will be bringing his dogs, Champ and Major, with him.

Proving that the next President of the United States is socially aware, one of the dogs is a rescue.

Champ and Major will be the first pooches in the White House since former president Barack Obama and his family lived there with their two Portuguese water dogs, Sunny and Bo.

Furthermore, Major will be the first ever rescue to take up residence at the famous Washington, DC address, according to NBC.

The current president, Donald Trump, is said to not be a fan of pets.

Long-time dog lovers Biden and his wife, Jill, adopted Major in 2018 from the Delaware Humane Association. The German shepherd joined their first dog, Champ, who is the same breed. Named in honour of Biden's childhood moniker, Champ joined the family in 2008, while Biden was serving as vice president to Obama.

Such is his devotion to his dogs, Biden made them part of his election campaign, taking to social media to spur Americans to vote with the message: "Lets put a dog back in the White House.”

Both dogs make regular appearances on Biden's social media pages, such as a post that shows the politician getting his face licked, with the caption: "No ruff days on the trail when I have some Major motivation."

Donald Trump is the first president since James K Polk (1845-1849) not to have any pets in the White House. Other animals that have lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue include Jack the turkey, saved from the cooking pot by Abraham Lincoln, Whiskers the goat, who lived with Benjamin Harrison, and Theodore Roosevelt's innumerable pets, including a one-legged rooster and a badger named Josiah.

Woodrow Wilson kept a flock of sheep to keep the lawn in check, while John F Kennedy had ducks, which eventually had to be rehomed after inciting the fury of the president's Welsh terrier, Charlie.

Bill Clinton's cat Socks, which lived for 20 years, made regular appearances in the Press Briefing Room at the White House, while George W Bush had a longhorn cow called Ofelia, who now lives in retirement on Bush's ranch.

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