President Joe Biden‘s dog Commander has bitten US Secret Service agents 24 times, according to new documents.
The US Secret Service has records that show how much trouble the German Shepherd caused for the president’s bodyguards.
A very experienced agent noticed that the bites meant the Secret Service is now telling agents to keep their distance and give more space.
The notice came many months before the Commander was taken out of the White House.
The papers were shared because of Freedom of Information requests and uploaded on the internet. The information is edited a lot to keep the Secret Service agents’ identities and security tactics a secret.
Between October 2022 and July 2023, there were at least 24 times when people were bitten. This includes members of the Secret Service who were bitten on different parts of their body like the wrist, forearm, elbow, waist, chest, thigh and shoulder.
The papers may not have all the times when Commander bit someone because they only have information about the Secret Service, not other people who work at the White House or Camp David in Maryland.
The Biden family’s pet left the White House in October last year. This happened one week after a Secret Service agent got bitten and needed medical help.
In June, an agent got a serious bite on the arm that needed stitches. There was some blood on the floor in a part of the White House, so they had to stop tours of the East Wing for 20 minutes.
In July, another agent got bitten on the hand and needed six stitches. The bite made a big open wound and the person started to lose a lot of blood. This was in an email.
This agent received a gift from coworkers that included medicine for pain and infection, pepper spray, a muzzle, and dog treats for safety reasons.
In an email, a senior agent said that agents looking after Mr Biden and his family need to be creative to make sure they stay safe.
“The recent dog bites have made us change how we do things when Commander is around- please stay far away (ideally stay one feature of land away),” the agent wrote.