Joe Biden’s dog, bits another employee at the White House on Monday, the White House confirmed.
Major, a 3-year-old German shepherd adopted by the Bidens in 2018, received training within the last two weeks, according to the White House.
This is not the first time that Major bit someone at the White house. Major also bit a Secret Service employee on March 8, in an incident that also required medical attention for the victim. The Biden dogs were returned home to Delaware following the first incident, but President Biden said it was a planned trip and that the dogs had not been banished.
According to First Lady Jill Biden’s press secretary, Michael LaRosa, the German shepherds “nipped someone while on a walk” on Monday at the White House. The animal “is still adjusting to his new surroundings”, (The line is becoming something of a family go-to: Earlier this month, LaRosa said Major was “still getting acclimated and accustomed” to all the people.) LaRosa also revived the early-pandemic PR staple “out an abundance of caution” to describe the decision to send the National Park employee to the White House Medical Unit before returning “to work without injury.”
Washington, D.C., law is strict on dog owners who know their dog has had at least one biting incident in the past.
Biden has a duty to keep his dogs away from people. “The one feature of Washington, D.C. dog bite law, and it’s relevant to the Major Biden story, it’s called the one-bite rule,”. “If the dog bites someone after it has already shown that it will bite someone, then there is presumed negligence on the owner of the dog.” Personal injury lawyer Davis Cooper told Fox News.
“My legal recommendation to them would be to keep that dog completely isolated or away from anyone because he’s a known danger,” said Cooper, chairman of D.C.-based Cooper Law Partners. “I believe it’s their duty to protect people from their dog.”
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley wrote a blog post on the situation, and tweeted, “In a prior column, I noted that under tort law a dog is afforded (at most) ‘one free bite’ before strict liability applies. Major could now be treated as a known vicious animal for liability purposes.”
Major Biden jokes and memes began flowing on Twitter.
Several folks on the left repeated the post, “I stand with Major Biden,” while The Daily Wire’s Jon Brown tweeted that “Major Biden should wear a mask.”
Sources: theguardian.com, theblaze.com, foxnews.com, cnn.com
put Major down!