WASHINGTON – President Biden’s two-year-old German shepherd Commander bit a White House staffer on camera last month, his 12th documented act of aggression in the past year, further undermining the anonymous idea of the administration that the first dog only bites Secret Service personnel.
A tourist photographed the Commander sinking his teeth into the arm of White House grounds superintendent Dale Haney, 71, on September 13.
DailyMail.com published the image on Wednesday and reported that Haney, who was photographed in the past walking Commander, had been playing with the dog when the animal turned on him.
Commander also bit a Secret Service agent on September 25, CNN reported last week.
Anonymous White House staff told Politico on Monday that Commander is “always so friendly” and that they “have never seen him like this” with non-security personnel.
President Biden’s dog, Commander, was caught on camera biting the arm of White House Grounds Superintendent Dale Haney on September 13. Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
A former Biden aide blamed the biting incidents on “huge armed men acting suspiciously hostile.”
The Post exclusively revealed in July that Commander had bitten seven Secret Service employees and shown aggression toward three others between October 2022 and January of this year.
In the most serious incident, the White House medical team referred a uniformed officer to a local hospital for evaluation last November after suffering injuries to his arm and thigh, according to emails released under the Freedom Act. Information to the watchdog group Judicial Watch.
Haney accompanies Commander to the White House in December 2022.Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to comment Wednesday on the new photo.
“I would refer him to the Secret Service and also to the first lady’s office,” Jean-Pierre said at his regular briefing.
A spokeswoman for first lady Jill Biden did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment, but told the Daily Mail: “The First Family continues to work on ways to help the Commander manage the often unpredictable nature of the grounds of the White House”.
Haney was reportedly playing with the German shepherd when it turned on him. Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks The commander bit seven Secret Service employees between October 2022 and January of this year. Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
There may be many additional bite incidents that have not yet been reported because those recorded in internal emails cover a brief period of the dog’s time at the White House, omitting his initial nine months and his most recent eight months.
Those records also do not document potential incidents involving non-Secret Service employees.
Judicial Watch is seeking additional internal Secret Service communications.
Biden walks as commander in December 2021.Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
Biden parted ways with former first dog Major during his first year in office after that German shepherd repeatedly attacked Secret Service employees and at least one White House visitor.
The White House said Major was sent to live with family friends.
The White House has not proactively disclosed any bite incidents involving either dog.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn