For the past four years the White House has been lacking in furry friends but that will come to an end when President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Dr Jill Biden bring their two German Shepherds with them to Washington, D.C.
Their two dogs, Major and Champ, will become ‘First Dogs’ when they move into the White House in January 2021.
Major will be making history as the first rescue dog to live in the White House. He was adopted by the Bidens in 2018 from the Delaware Humane Association.
According to Metro, Biden’s daughter Ashley saw Delaware Humane Association animal shelter’s plea on Facebook to re-home a litter of German Shepherd puppies.
Major and his siblings had been abandoned at the shelter and were ‘not doing well at all’ when rescuers took them in, said the center. Biden contacted the shelter and took Major home as a foster owner, before falling in love with him and deciding to adopt.
Meanwhile, Champ is a veteran of the White House. Biden had bought Champ from a breeder when he first moved in the White House in 2008 as Vice President.
According to The BBC, in 2008, Jill Biden promised Joe Biden a post-election pet, and posted pictures of different dogs on the back of the seat in front of him on his campaign plane.
The name Champ, chosen by Mr Biden’s grandchildren, had sentimental significance. During campaign speeches for the 2008 election Biden recalled how his father would tell him, “Any time you get knocked down, champ, get up!”
The dogs move in on January after inauguration, reviving a long-standing tradition of dogs in the White House. They will be the first dogs to call the White House their home since the Obamas left.
The Obamas had two Portuguese water dogs named Bo and Sunny.
First Dogs Champ and Major already have a massive fan base on social media and they can be followed on Twitter here and on Instagram here.
