By Steve Neavling
President Biden’s family dog, Commander, bit Secret Service personnel on at least 24 occasions, one of which required an agent to receive six stitches, according to newly released internal emails posted online.
The biting episodes involving the German shepherd occurred between October 2022 and July 2023. About half of the attacks required medical attention.
The number of attacks did not include White House staff who were also bit.
Commander was removed from the White House last fall.
The attacks forced Secret Service personnel to adjust their workplace habits to avoid getting bit.
“The recent dog bites have challenged us to adjust our operational tactics when Commander is present — please give lots of room (staying a terrain feature away if possible),” an assistant special agent in charge of the Presidential Protection Division wrote to the team. “We will continue to keep (Biden) in our sight but must be creative to ensure our own personal safety.”
The agent added that they were searching for “a better solution soon.”
In an email in October 2022, an unidentified Secret Service technician who described a biting episode said he or she was “worried about the family pet’s behavior escalating and that … something worse was going to happen to others.”
The Bidens got Commander as a puppy in December 2021 as a gift from Joe Biden’s brother James.
