President Trump was the first president not to have a White House pet in more than 100 years. Mr. Biden will bring two German shepherds, one of which was adopted from a shelter.
President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. is expected to restore a time-honored tradition of having a presidential pet at the White House.
Starting in January, the Biden family’s two German shepherds, Champ and Major, will roam the executive residence.
President Trump was the first president in more than a century not to have a pet of any kind, Andrew Hager, the historian-in-residence at the Presidential Pet Museum, said.
In 2008, the Biden family got a German shepherd puppy from a breeder after Mr. Biden was elected vice president, according to Politico. The Bidens named the dog Champ because Mr. Biden’s father had told him growing up, “Get up, champ,” when his life was challenging.
In 2018, the Biden family adopted their former foster dog, Major, from the Delaware Humane Association.
Mr. Biden would not be the first to have an adopted dog in the White House. President Lyndon B. Johnson’s mixed-breed dog, Yuki, was found by his daughter at a Texas gas station.
In 2016, Lois Pope, a philanthropist for veterans and animals in Palm Beach, Fla., said she had offered Mr. Trump a goldendoodle puppy named Patton, after George Patton, the World War II general that Mr. Trump has said he admires, The Washington Post reported.
At a February 2019 rally in El Paso, Mr. Trump said that he didn’t have a dog because he didn’t have time, and felt it would be “phony” for him to get one for political reasons.
“You do love your dogs, don’t you?” Mr. Trump said. “I wouldn’t mind having one, honestly, but I don’t have any time. How would I look walking a dog on the White House lawn?”
Mr. Biden’s dog Major reflects a broader trend of Americans adopting pets from shelters and how they feel about animal rights, Mr. Hager said.
“In a way, I’ve made the argument that you can look at the history of Americans and animals by looking at the president and their pets,” he said.
Mr. Biden occasionally posts about Champ and Major on social media.
“No ruff days on the campaign trail when I have some Major motivation,” Mr. Biden wrote on Instagram last month.
