He was introduced as a smaller and friendlier version of Joe Biden’s dog Major, who was banished from the White House two years ago after numerous biting episodes.
Now the “first pooch”, Commander, is in the doghouse himself after chomping down on several people, including a Secret Service agent who needed hospital treatment for their wounds.
Details of the German shepherd’s transgressions have come via a public information request filed by the conservative activist group Judicial Watch, which specializes in alleged misconduct by government officials.
The records paint a picture of a strong, growing dog increasingly out of control, including one episode when the first lady, Jill Biden, could not prevent him charging at an officer.
According to the group, Commander, aged almost two, broke protocol at least 10 times in a five-month period, including three serious incidents that took place in the space of just a few weeks. In the first, which took place on 3 November last year, he bit a uniformed Secret Service agent on the arm and thigh, requiring the White House physician’s office to send the victim to hospital.
The officer told superiors he had to use a steel cart to shield himself from the animal, and was “in a considerable amount of pain”, the report said.
The second significant episode took place weeks later when Biden released Commander from his leash and into the Kennedy garden of the White House following a family movie night, whereupon the dog bit a separate Secret Service officer’s hand and arm.
And it seems Commander’s poor decisions are not confined only to his residence at the capital. A month after his movie night ambush, the dog bit a security technician on the back at Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware.
Commander might be even more badly behaved than the records show. Judicial Watch points out that only the timeframe from September 2022 until January 2023 is covered by its request, and his first nine months at the White House, and the most recent six months, are excluded.
“These shocking records raise fundamental questions about President Biden and the Secret Service,” said Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton.
Email exchanges between Secret Service agents and their managers reveal their disdain for Commander, whom the Bidens introduced in December 2021 in a video showing the president tossing a ball to him.
“That’s freaking crazy, that stupid dog,” the superior of the November 2022 attack said.
“My leg and arm still hurts. He bit me twice and ran at me twice,” the victim replied, to which the first officer said: “What a joke. If it wasn’t [the Bidens’] dog he would already have been put down. Freaking clown needs a muzzle.”
Meanwhile, a “situational awareness report” dated 5 October 2022 alerted staff to a “friendly soft bite” that Commander inflicted on an agent’s forearm. “In light of past incidents, I just wanted to keep you all in the loop,” the anonymous author wrote.
Barely three weeks later, the situation had become more critical. “Commander has been exhibiting extremely aggressive behavior,” an email from an officer in the agency’s uniformed decision wrote.
“Today, while posted, he came charging at me. The First Lady couldn’t regain control of Commander and he continued to circle me. I believe it’s only a matter of time before an agent/officer is attacked or bit.”
The prediction came true days later when the agent was hospitalized.
A series of other biting incidents by Commander, some requiring medical treatment, were reported through November and December 2022. According to Judicial Watch, the dog showed a pattern of aggression in which it would chase people as they walked then leap to bite them.
“This is a special sort of craziness and corruption where a president would allow his dog to repeatedly attack and bite Secret Service and White House personnel,” Fitton said, accusing the Bidens of “hiding” documents relating to the incidents.
The White House said the Bidens will provide more training and improved control techniques for Commander.
“They have been partnering with the Secret Service and executive residence staff on additional leashing protocols and training, as well as establishing designated areas for Commander to run and exercise,” Elizabeth Alexander, communications director for the first lady, told CNN.
“The president and first lady are incredibly grateful to the Secret Service and executive residence staff for all they do to keep them, their family and the country safe.”
