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WASHINGTON — The first dogs have entered the White House.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden’s two German shepherds, Champ and Major, officially joined the first family Sunday in their new residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

“The first family wanted to get settled before bringing the dogs down to Washington from Delaware,” first lady Jill Biden’s press secretary Michael LaRosa told CNN in a statement Monday. “Champ is enjoying his new dog bed by the fireplace, and Major loved running around on the South Lawn.”

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden’s two German shepherds, Champ and Major, have officially joined the first family at the White House.Jill Biden/Instagram

The Bidens’ dogs moving in marks a return to a longstanding tradition of presidents and their families bringing their pets with them to the White House. Former President Donald Trump and his family did not have any pets for the four years they lived in the White House.

The First Dogs History

Champ has been with the Biden family for more than 10 years — since December 2008, weeks after Biden became Barack Obama’s vice president-elect.

Major, a shelter dog, joined the Biden family more recently. He was adopted in November 2018, months before Biden announced he would run for president in the 2020 election cycle.

Major is the first shelter dog to live in the White House. Earlier this month, the Delaware Humane Association, from where he was adopted, and Pumpkin Pet Insurance hosted a virtual celebration — an “Indoguration Party” — for Major.

Though he is the first shelter dog at the White House, Major is not the first rescue pet. A shelter often receives government funding, whereas animal rescues are often completely run by volunteers.

Former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s daughter, Luci, rescued a mixed-breed pup named Yuki, abandoned by his owner at a gas station in Texas. Former President Bill Clinton’s family cat, Socks, was also a rescue.

Jill Biden has also said she would “love to get a cat,” telling Fox 5 in Washington, “I love having animals around the house.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday she did not have an update about the cat.

“I’m also wondering about the cat because the cat is going to dominate the internet whenever the cat is announced and wherever that cat is found,” Psaki said in a Sunday evening video answering questions posed on Twitter.

The tradition of keeping pets in the White House dates back to Thomas Jefferson, who kept a mockingbird and a couple of bear cubs during his presidency. Throughout the years, presidential pets have become celebrities of sorts.

25 Photos to Celebrate the First Dogs

Here’s a gallery of 25 photos to celebrate rescue dogs around the world.

Rescue dog

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
Liz Saville-Roberts, a British member of Parliament, gets a lick from rescue dog Fiona at the Westminster Dog of the Year competition in London on Sept. 8, 2016. The annual competition is open to all parliamentarians’ dogs and to promote responsible dog ownership and develop a partnership on dog welfare issues. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Rescue dog

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
Plop, a rescue dog, is seen in New York on Jan. 31, 2019. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Rescue dog

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
Lady, a mixed-breed rescue dog, sails into the water after a tennis ball at a dog park near downtown Houston on Jan. 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

Rescue dog

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
Maeghan Hadley, who runs 1 Day Ranch, a rescue and rehabilitation program for abused and neglected dogs and horses, holds a rescue dog at 1 Day Ranch in Bethel Acres, Okla., on Oct. 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Rescue dog

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
A rescue dog named Girl poses in Mobile, Ala., on May 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Chihuahua

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
A Chihuahua rescue dog named Giganton, “giant” in Spanish, looks out from his cage at the Northeast Valley Animal Care Center in Mission Hills, Calif., on Dec. 18, 2009. The dog was part of the “Project Flying Chihuahuas,” an initiative transporting Chihuahuas to the East Coast for adoption. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Rescue dog

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
Baxter, a 3-year-old rescue dog, watches runners in the New York City Marathon in the Queens borough of New York on Nov. 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)

Rescue dog

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
Muttshack Animal Rescue Foundation founder Amanda St. John, from Los Angeles, cuddles a rescue dog at a shelter in New Orleans on Oct. 15, 2005. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

Rescue dog

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
Nittany, a mixed breed rescue dog, sniffs around the Big Bad Woof pet store in Washington on July 5, 2007. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Rescue

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
A recently rescued dog is seen May 21, 2008, at Stray Rescue of St. Louis. The shelter beat out 1,000 other entries from around the country to win a $1 million animal shelter makeover from Zootoo.com. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)


Dogs

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
Anita Uhrman, left, and her daughter Margo pose for a picture with their dogs, pit bull Shayna, a rescue dog, and Zuess, in the yard of their Moreland Hills, Ohio, home on May 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)

Rescue dog

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
Penny, a mixed-breed rescue dog, poses with her owner, Margery Cooper, in Brooklyn on Feb. 2, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz)

Rescue dog

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
Manuel Aguirres, a student at Linford Elementary School in Laramie, Wyo., gets a kiss from Moose, a seven-year-old golden retriever rescue dog, during a classroom visit on Nov. 2, 2007. (AP Photo/Laramie Boomerang, Andy Carpenean)

Rescue dog

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
John Knight spends time with his 3-year-old rescue dog Liesl at his home in Dallas on May 7, 2010. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Rescue dog

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
Isabel Zavala hugs her rescue dog Jonesy in Los Angeles on Feb. 10, 2012. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Rescue dog

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
Gina Knight, left, and her daughter Victoria, 15, spend time with the family pet, Liesl, a 3-year-old rescue dog, in Dallas on May 7, 2010. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Dogs

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
Elena Sweet, owner of the Totally Dog day care center in Miami, rests with two of her tired charges on Aug. 17, 2010. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Dog

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
Baltic the dog, rescued from an ice floe on the Baltic Sea, poses with his rescuer Adam Buczynski in Poland on Jan. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Andrzej J. Gojke)

Rescue dog

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
A rescue dog walks down stairs at the Good Newz Rehab Center, the former home of NFL football quarterback Michael Vick’s Bad Newz kennel in Smithfield, Va., on June 15, 2015. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

David Ortiz, Josh Duhamel

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
Boston Red Sox baseball player David Ortiz, left, holds a rescue dog named Nacho as he poses with actor Josh Duhamel, right, holding a rescue dog named Charlie, while they help launch Pedigree Brand’s “See what good food can do” documentary-style campaign to help shelter dogs during the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 20, 2014, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP)

Rescue dog

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
In this June 15, 2015, photo, a rescue dog looks out a window at visitors during a tour of the Good Newz Rehab Center, the former home of NFL football quarterback Michael Vick’s dogfighting operation in Smithfield, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Rescue dog

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
A rescue dog is pictured during an event celebrating a Phoenix program in which thousands of rehabilitated pets have found forever homes through adoption. (Rick Scuteri/AP Images for PetSmart Charities)

Dogs

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
This photo provided by Cameron Gaeren shows rescue dog Zack, right, who joined a household that already included Roxy, left, in their home in Chicago, Ill. (Cameron Gearen via AP)

David Ortiz

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
Boston Red Sox baseball player David Ortiz poses with a rescue dog named Charlie to help launch Pedigree Brand’s “See what good food can do” documentary-style campaign to help shelter dogs during the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, Jan. 20, 2014, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP)

Rescue dog

First dogs, First Dogs Champ & Major Move into White House
Florida Sen. Bill Bankhead pets Aspen, a rescue dog, on the floor of the Senate in Tallahassee, Fla., on March 26, 1997. (AP Photo/Carol Cleere)

Source: dailyjournalonline

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