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“The first family wanted to settle down before they brought the dogs back to Washington from Delaware. Champ is enjoying his new dog bed by the fireplace and Major loved running on the south lawn,” said Michael LaRosa, press secretary for First Lady Jill Biden, at CNN. in a statement Monday.
The move in of the Bidens dogs marks a return to a long tradition of presidents and their families bringing their pets with them to the White House. Former President Donald Trump and his family did not have pets during the four years they lived in the White House.
Champ has been in the Biden family for over 10 years – since December 2008, weeks after Biden became Barack Obama’s vice president-elect. Major, a shelter dog, joined the Biden family more recently. It was passed in November 2018, months before Biden announced he would run for president in the 2020 election cycle.
Despite being the first White House shelter dog, Major is not the first rescue. A shelter often receives government funding, while animal rescues are often run entirely by volunteers.
Former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s daughter, Luci, rescued a mixed-breed puppy abandoned by its owner at a Texas gas station named Yuki. Former President Bill Clinton’s family cat Socks was also a rescue.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Sunday that she did not have an update on the chat.
“I also wonder about the chat, because the chat is going to dominate the internet whenever the chat is announced and wherever it is,” Psaki said in a Sunday night video responding to questions posed on Twitter.
The tradition of keeping pets in the White House dates back to Thomas Jefferson, who kept a mockingbird and a few cubs during his presidency. Presidential pets have grown into celebrities over the years.
This story has been updated with additional information.
Kate Bennett of CNN contributed to this story.
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