The newest residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue have arrived: the Biden family’s two German shepherds, Champ and Major.
The dogs officially joined President Biden and Jill Biden, the First Lady, in the White House on Sunday, said Michael LaRosa, a spokesman for Dr Biden.
“Champ is enjoying his new dog bed by the fireplace, and Major loved running around on the South Lawn,” LaRosa said in a statement.
Dr Biden confirmed their arrival on Twitter on Monday. “Champ and Major have joined us in the White House!” she wrote.
Their arrival ends the longest period at the presidential residence without a pet of some kind since President Andrew Johnson’s term, from 1865-1869, according to the Presidential Pet Museum.
The Biden family got Champ from a breeder in 2008 after Biden was elected vice- president, according to Politico, and they adopted Major in 2018 through the Delaware Humane Association, making him the first rescue dog to live in the White House.
Biden has occasionally posted on social media about his pets.
“No ruff days on the campaign trail when I have some Major motivation,” Biden wrote on Instagram in October.
Later that month, he wrote on Twitter: “Some Americans celebrate #NationalCatDay, some celebrate #NationalDogDay — President Trump celebrates neither. It says a lot. It’s time we put a pet back in the White House.”
The tradition of presidential pet ownership dates to George Washington’s two terms, and has been carried on by 31 of the 46 Presidents.
Donald J. Trump was the first President in more than a century without a pet.
Johnson, the last pet-less President, was known to leave flour out for a family of white mice that were living in his bedroom, according to the Presidential Pet Museum.