Joe Biden

Joe Biden's German Shepherd Major Will Be the 1st Rescue Dog in the White House

The Bidens also have another German shepherd, Champ

NBCUniversal Media, LLC

President-elect Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, are preparing to move into the White House in January, and their dogs, Major and Champ, will join them, marking a significant first for animal lovers.

There hasn't been a presidential pet during Trump's administration, but that's about to change with Biden's two German shepherds. What's more, Major will be the first rescue dog ever to live in the White House.

The Bidens adopted Major after fostering him from the Delaware Humane Association. In 2018, the organization announced the news in a celebratory Facebook post.

Today is Major’s lucky day! Not only did Major find his forever home, but he got adopted by Vice President Joe Biden &...

Posted by Delaware Humane Association on Saturday, November 17, 2018

"Today is Major’s lucky day!" the group wrote alongside photos of the growing Biden family. "Not only did Major find his forever home, but he got adopted by Vice President Joe Biden & Dr. Jill Biden! The Bidens have gotten to know Major while fostering him and are now ready to make the adoption official. Best of luck and thank you for being one of our Friends for life!"

Major joined Champ, the Bidens' other German shepherd that they got as a puppy from a breeder. In 2008, the Biden granddaughters told the rest of the family on Christmas that the dog would be named "Champ," because the former vice president's father used to call him that.

Last week, Biden made the case for bringing dogs back to the White House with a campaign video on Instagram. At the end of the post was a message reading "Major and Champ for DOTUS."

Champ and Major will be the first dogs to reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. since Bo and Sunny, Barack Obama's Portuguese water dogs. During Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, he promised his daughters, Sasha and Malia, now 19 and 22 respectively, a dog at the end of it, regardless of whether he won. Bo, a male, joined the Obama family at the White House in April 2009, and Sunny, a female, came along in August 2013.

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

Copyright Today Digital Originals
Contact Us