White House: Biden Dog Major Caused 'Minor Injury'

Psaki says banished dogs will return soon
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 9, 2021 8:30 PM CST
Updated Mar 10, 2021 12:21 AM CST
White House: Major Caused 'Minor Injury'
The dogs will be returning to the White House soon, Psaki says.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

The White House confirmed Tuesday that Biden family dogs Major and Champ have been banished for a doggie time out in Delaware after Major caused a "minor injury" to a Secret Service agent. White House press secretary Jen Psaki explained the canine caper Tuesday by saying the dogs "are still getting acclimated and accustomed to their new surroundings and new people," the AP reports. "On Monday, the first family’s younger dog Major was surprised by an unfamiliar person and reacted in a way that resulted in a minor injury to the individual, which was handled by the White House medical unit, with no further treatment needed," Psaki said.

She would not confirm that a Secret Service agent was injured in Monday's incident, but an administration official speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity later said an agent was Major's victim. Psaki said plans already had been made to send the dogs to Delaware for care while Biden's wife, Jill, left town on Monday to spend Tuesday and Wednesday touring US military installations in Washington state and California. The dogs will return to the White House soon, Psaki said. The Bidens adopted Major, who is around three years old in 2018 from the Delaware Humane Association. They got Champ, who at age 13 is less spry and likely calmer, from a breeder. He joined the family after Biden was elected vice president in 2008. Jill Biden recently said she is "obsessed" with getting the dogs settled in the White House.

(More White House stories.)

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