Commander was removed from White House in October 2023, after biting USSS agent severely
New documents reveal that President Joe Biden’s dog Commander has bitten United States Secret Service (USSS) agents on at least 24 occasions, causing chaos for the presidential bodyguards, CNN reported.
“The recent dog bites have challenged us to adjust our operational tactics when Commander is present — please give lots of room,” one senior agent wrote to their team in a June 2023 email, warning that agents “must be creative to ensure our own personal safety.”
The warning came months before the German Shephard was removed from the White House.
The documents, obtained through Freedom of Information requests, reveal at least 24 biting incidents between October 2022 and July 2023.
These occasions involved USSS members being bitten on various parts of their body, including the wrist, forearm, elbow, waist, chest, thigh, and shoulder.
The documents do not necessarily record all biting incidents related to Commander.
They only cover the Secret Service and not others who work in the White House or staff at Camp David in Maryland.
The Biden family’s pet left the White House in October last year, one week after a Secret Service agent required medical treatment for a severe bite.
A previous incident in June led to a “deep bite” on the forearm of an agent, who needed stitches. The incident prompted a 20-minute suspension of tours of the East Wing of the White House due to blood on the floor in an area, according to one document.
In July, another agent was bitten in the hand and required six stitches due to a “severe deep open wound”. The agent lost significant blood.
Colleagues gifted a “small care package”, including painkillers, antibiotic ointment, pepper spray, a muzzle, and dog biscuits, “for safety purposes”.
