First Dog Major Biden "Nipped" Another Person At The White House

The 3-year-old German shepherd previously caused "a minor injury" to a Secret Service agent.

First dog Major Biden "nipped" another person at the White House on Tuesday, officials said, shortly after returning to Washington, DC, following a separate biting incident earlier this month.

"Major is still adjusting to his new surroundings and he nipped someone while on a walk," Michael LaRosa, press secretary for first lady Jill Biden, said in an email to BuzzFeed News.

LaRosa said the individual was seen by the White House medical unit "out of an abundance of caution" and returned to work "without injury."

The incident was first reported by CNN, which identified the person as a National Park Service employee working on the South Lawn. It comes just over a week after Major and Champ, the Bidens' 12-year-old dog, returned to Washington, DC, from Delaware, where Major underwent training following a similar episode. On March 8, the 3-year-old German shepherd caused what White House press secretary Jen Psaki described as "a minor injury" to an unfamiliar person who "surprised" the dog.

That individual was also referred to the White House medical unit and did not need any additional treatment, Psaki said.

President Joe Biden later defended Major as a "sweet dog" and said in an interview with Good Morning America that the German shepherd did not "penetrate the skin."

"You turn a corner, and there's two people you don't know at all," Biden said. "And he moves to protect. But he's a sweet dog. Eighty-five percent of the people there love him. He just — all he does is lick them and wag his tail."

The Bidens adopted Major from the Delaware Humane Association in 2018. He became the first-ever shelter dog to live at the White House when Biden took office this year.

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