[imagesource:here]

Former President Donald Trump famously didn’t care for dogs, shouting during one of his rally speeches: “How would I look walking a dog on the White House lawn?”, before throwing his arms wide and pulling a face.

Honestly, the dog might have improved things.

He was the first president in over a century not to own a dog, so the position of ‘First Dog’ was left vacant during his term.

Now the mantle, or mantles as the case may be, have been taken up again by Champ and Major, First Lady Dr Jill and President Joe Biden’s German shepherds.

In September last year, Champ appeared in a campaign video for Biden:

Now he and his brother have officially joined the first family at the White House.

Per CNN:

“The First Family wanted to get settled before bringing the dogs down to Washington from Delaware. Champ is enjoying his new dog bed by the fireplace, and Major loved running around on the South Lawn,” First Lady Jill Biden’s press secretary Michael LaRosa told CNN in a statement Monday.

Major is the first shelter dog to live in the White House. He was adopted two years ago from the Delaware Humane Association.

Image: Joe Biden at the Delaware Humane Association adopting Major, USA Today

They had adopted Champ just after the 2008 election won by Barack Obama, with Biden as vice president.

Image: Champ, Adam Schultz

Earlier this month, the Delaware Humane Association and Pumpkin Pet Insurance hosted an “Indoguration Party” for Major.

Image: Major, Adam Schultz

While he’s the first shelter dog, he isn’t the first rescue pet in the White House.

Image: Adam Schultz

Former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s daughter, Luci, rescued a mixed-breed pup abandoned at a petrol station, and former President Bill Clinton’s family cat, Socks, was also a rescue.

Jill Biden has also said she would “love to get a cat,” telling Fox 5 in Washington, “I love having animals around the house.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Sunday that she did not have an update on the status of the cat.

“I’m also wondering about the cat, because the cat is going to dominate the internet whenever the cat is announced and wherever that cat is found,” Psaki said in a Sunday evening video answering questions posed on Twitter.

First Cat has a nice ring to it.

[source:cnn]