Bidens’ dog will be first rescue dog to live at the White House

President-elect Joe Biden will be ushering in two new first dogs when he makes his move to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. The White House (and America) has been without presidential dogs since 2016 when President Donald Trump became the first president without a dog in decades.

German shepherds Champ and Major will be accompanying the Biden family to their new residence. The Biden grandchildren gave 12-year-old Champ, who joined the family in 2008, the name Biden Sr. often used as an endearment.

Major is from a litter of six other German shepherd puppies, who were given “life-saving medical care” after exposure to “something toxic in their home,” a Delaware Humane Association news release said at the time of his adoption by the Bidens in 2018. He will become the first rescue shelter dog to live in the White House. He fostered with the Bidens before being adopted to join his pup-brother, Champ.

“We are so happy to welcome Major to the Biden family, and we are grateful to the Delaware Humane Association for their work in finding forever homes for Major and countless other animals,” Biden told CNN in 2018. (Biden has owned at least three other German Shepherds and had a Great Dane named Governor.)

This isn’t the first time the White House has had two dogs under its roof. Most recently, Barack Obama had two first dogs under his administration: Bo and Sunny, Portuguese water dogs.

Read more at usatoday.com