Who Lets The Dogs Out In The White House?

Dog lovers finally breathed a sigh of relief when German shepherds Champ and Major Biden moved into the White House last week, ending a dry spell of presidential pets. But now fans are hungry for details about how President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will interact with the boys.

Champ and Major are definitely part of the current presidential package. When Biden was running for president in October, he posted a video of Trump saying he wouldn’t look good walking a dog. In response, Biden shared a photo of himself with Champ:

Who’ll let the dogs out in the Biden household? It will likely be the president himself who’ll take them on walks, at least some of the time, police dog trainer Mark Tobin told The Washington Post. If Biden takes the lead, he’ll be following in the footsteps of the Kennedys, Ronald Reagan (with his Bouvier des Flandres Lucky) and Michelle Obama (with the family’s Portuguese water dogs Bo and Sunny).

For big trips, Champ and Major, like their predecessors, will likely receive first-class treatment on Air Force One. And according to the Post, they don’t have to go to the vet because the vet will come to them.

The dogs can do pretty much whatever their families allow them to do. Sunny often accompanied former first lady Michelle Obama on visits to schools or to other events with children. Warren G. Harding took his Airedale, Laddie Boy, golfing, the Post noted.

George W. Bush ’s Scottish terrier siblings Mizz Beasley and Barney liked to cuddle with him in the Oval Office. Barney even became the star of a series of “Barney cam” videos when he lived in the White House. Those clips are now part of the National Archives.

Major and Champ have some big pawprints to fill.