One of US President Joe Biden's dogs has attacked another member of his Secret Service security detail, new reports have revealed.
Presidential pooch Commander, a two-year-old German shepherd who was a gift from Biden's brother James in December 2021, bit a member of the service's uniformed division at the White House in Washington, DC, at 8 p.m. local time on Monday.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the officer was given medical treatment on-site for his injuries.
Biden's wife tried to excuse the dog's latest aggressive behavior, which followed at least 10 previous biting incidents between October 2022 and January 2023 — one of which sent a Secret Service agent to the hospital.
“The White House can be a stressful environment for family pets, and the first family continues to work on ways to help Commander handle the often unpredictable nature of the White House grounds,” Jill Biden's spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander said, adding that the ruling family were “incredibly grateful to the Secret Service and executive residence staff for all they do to keep them, their family, and the country safe.”
However, leaked emails involving Secret Service agents show the force — tasked with guarding the lives of the president, vice president and their families — is not amused by the first dog's antics.
“That’s freaking crazy, that stupid dog,” wrote the superior of one officer who Commander bit in November 2022, to which the victim responded: “My leg and arm still hurts. He bit me twice and ran at me twice.”
“What a joke," his boss responded. "If it wasn’t [the Bidens’] dog he would already have been put down. Freaking clown needs a muzzle.”
Commander follows in the paw-steps of Biden's older German shepherds Major and Champ, who were ultimately banished from the presidential residence after several attacks on staff.
The US Secret Service was founded in 1865 on the orders of then-president Abraham Lincoln, to investigate cases of currency counterfeiting under the auspices of the Treasury Department. Only after the assassinations of Lincoln and later presidents James Garfield and William McKinley was the VIP bodyguard branch of the agency set up.