In the spirit of continuing the good news coming out of the 2020 U.S. election—which saw Joe Biden win the presidency with an unprecedented amount of votes and Kamala Harris become the first female Vice President—there are going to be dogs in the White House again. (Donald Trump was the first President in decades without a dog).
As a matter of fact, the First dogs arrived at their new—and incredibly spacious—abode only a few days after the inauguration, and best of all, are reportedly already feeling at home.
“Champ is enjoying his new dog bed by the fireplace and Major loved running around on the South Lawn,” the First Lady’s office revealed via Kenneth Moton‘s Twitter. In a collection of photos, the pups can be seen enjoying themselves on the White House grounds and in turn, warming up the hearts of the entire world.
And if their arrival couldn’t get any better, one of them is all set to make history (just like his owner, the newly inaugurated President Joe Biden).
Meet: Major, one of Biden’s two beloved German shepherds, and the first rescue dog to ever be in the White House.
Joe and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, adopted Major in 2018 from the Delaware Humane Association, picking him from a litter of puppies that was not doing well at the shelter, per ELLE US.
“Today is Major’s lucky day!” the shelter wrote on its Facebook page on November 17, 2018.
“Not only did Major find his forever home, but he got adopted by Vice President Joe Biden & Dr. Jill Biden! The Bidens have gotten to know Major while fostering him and are now ready to make the adoption official. Best of luck and thank you for being one of our Friends for life! #DHAMajor.”
Along with Major, the Bidens also have Champ, whom they welcomed into their home on Christmas 2008 and has already visited the White House (lucky dog!).
During Biden’s time as Vice President in the Obama Administration, Champ lived at the vice presidential at the U.S. Naval Observatory during Biden’s two terms. Fun fact? Champ was the nickname Biden’s father gave him when was a boy.
In a May 2020 interview with Wired, Biden spoke about how they got Major to add some spark to the older dog’s life.
“I have two dogs. I have two German shepherds,” he said.
“One I got when I got named Vice President of the United States by Barack. It was bribery on the part of my family, they said ‘If you agree, we’ll get you a dog again’.
“So, I have a dog named Champ, he’s getting to be an old guy, and to keep him young, we went out and got another dog from the rescue centre, and his name is Major.”
And don’t they look cute together?
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