I was thrilled to see that President Joe Biden has two dogs that are living with him and his wife at the White House. Champ and Major are German Shepherd dogs that belong to the Bidens. Major is the first shelter dog living in the White House.
Today's column isn't about politics. It has nothing to do with Democrats or Republicans, so don't go there. Not everything is political. Instead, this is about my love of all dogs and my joy that the leader of the free world shares that love.
Dogs bring such joy into the lives of humans, and they play a large role in making a house a home, even if the house is perhaps the most famous one in the world.
Besides, dogs have a long, storied history in the White House. Harry Truman once famously said, "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." I don't know the exact origin of that quote, but I suspect it was uttered to Bess shortly after he returned to the White House from his first meeting with Congress.
Truman also said, "The buck stops here," and "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." That Truman was a real wit.
Donald Trump was the first president since Warren G. Harding who didn't have a dog while living in the White House. Even Richard Nixon had a dog named Checkers, so named because the Nixon children thought that the dog's black and white markings looked like a checkerboard.
Ronald Reagan's dog was named Rex, which seems a perfectly acceptable name for a dog that spent much of his life at Reagan's California ranch. Likewise, Bill Clinton's dog was named Buddy, an appropriate name because, I suspect, during many nights in the White House residence, Buddy was Clinton's only buddy.
On the other hand, LBJ named a pair of his beagles Him and Her, which doesn't really show the imagination or creativity you'd expect from the leader of the free world.
Of course, George and Barbara Bush had perhaps my favorite White House dog, a springer spaniel named Millie. Millie even wrote a best-selling book about living in the White House. My Milly, the liver and white springer spaniel who lives at my house, has no plans to write a book, but she is negotiating for a podcast.
Still, White House dogs have not always been without controversy. On the day after the 2008 election, Barney, the first dog under George W. Bush, bit a Reuters reporter who bent down to pet him.
I just figured that Barney wasn’t happy that he was now a lame duck dog and was being replaced by a Democratic dog. On the other hand, it could be that Barney, like many Republicans in Washington, just didn't like the media.
Unlike some White House dogs, Major and Champ are older and presumably housebroken. That's a good thing. Even the perfect dog, such as Milly, will commit an indiscretion on your rug if you're not vigilant.
At my house, that's not such a big deal. My rug was bought on sale at Target. The rug at the White House, though, may have been a gift to Teddy Roosevelt in 1911 from the emperor of Russia.
I'm excited to keep up with the new first dogs. And this being the 21st century, it should be easy to do.
I just found out they have a Twitter account.
