We got an important Champ & Major update Wednesday morning when it was reported that one of the dogs allegedly pooped on the floor of the White House.
“One of Biden’s dogs pooped on the floor, per pool,” wrote CBS News’ Kathryn Watson. “Champ and Major were spotted in the hallway outside the Palm Room doors in front of the Diplomatic Room. There was dog poo on the floor. It’s unclear which dog was responsible for it.”
One of Biden’s dogs pooped on the floor, per pool
“Champ and Major were spotted in the hallway outside the Palm Room doors in front of the Diplomatic Room. There was dog poo on the floor. It’s unclear which dog was responsible for it”
— Kathryn Watson (@kathrynw5) March 31, 2021
First of all, I think Champ and Major should be treated as though they are innocent until they are proven guilty. Second, how do we know this isn’t their (or whomever’s) attempt at diplomacy? I mean, everybody poops, right? It’s the great equalizer.
Third, and most importantly, a whole lot of people are taking this way too seriously. The initial responses to Watson’s tweet were largely complaining about how journalists are covering the wrong things. Which I don’t totally disagree with. A lot of the questions asked at Jen Psaki’s news briefings and Biden’s first press conference have been embarrassingly frivolous. But people are also allowed to care about or at least acknowledge stupid stuff.
Guys, the coverage of the dogs is funny. Don’t get self-righteous about it. Sometimes you’ve just gotta enjoy the stupid.
— Clare Malone (@ClareMalone) March 31, 2021
On the other hand, there is something really, genuinely nice about a story about a dog pooping in the White House. That’s totally normal behavior for a normal dog to do when they’re two months into a total life upheaval. And if this was Major—which, again, has not been proven to be the case!—we absolutely have to continue to give all the patience in the world to the first rescue dog to move into the White House.
Major was reportedly involved in a second biting/nipping incident this week. Earlier this month, he reportedly nipped at a Secret Service agent, causing an “extremely minor” injury. Both dogs went back to the Bidens’ Delaware home for training and returned to the White House about a week later.
This second incident involved a National Park Service employee while the dog was on a walk Monday. Outlets including CNN and the Washington Post called it a “biting incident,” but the term “nipped” was also used, both by the outlets and by Jill Biden’s press secretary Michael LaRosa.
Major is a big dog and I genuinely feel for the person he nipped, as that can be really scary. But there is a huge difference between biting and nipping with a dog of that size and if Major had been intending to hurt the person, they would definitely be hurt. The nip, fortunately, did not break the skin and the person was examined by WH medical personnel and released without injury.
Again, that’s still really scary—for both the human and the dog.
“You turn a corner, and there’s two people you don’t know at all. And (Major) moves to protect,” Biden said during an interview after the first incident. “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. But … I realize some people, understandably, are afraid of dogs to begin with.”
As someone with a large shelter rescue dog with extreme personal space issues, I know that when he nips or growls, he does it out of fear. I also know how frustrating it is to have a dog that everyone wants to pet, that no one can pet, and a dog who is incredibly sweet but has intense boundary issues that we’re working on together every single day. It’s just reassuring to see that even the President of the United States can have those same issues.
I stumbled into a subreddit for owners of “reactive” dogs earlier today, where that sentiment was being shared by dozens of people.
“We’ve been struggling with a reactive golden, always hearing how beautiful and perfect she is when she’s under control and happily being social, all while knowing the damage she can cause,” wrote Redditor u/Atabit. “We’re self-conscious, we blame ourselves, we break down we have wins but the losses hurt a LOT more, and it’s hard to feel okay sometimes.”
The post continues:
Seeing the stories about Bidens dogs don’t make me feel anything about him as a president, it makes me feel like it is okay that we’re struggling.
The president has every possible resource to take care of his family, dogs included, and could get the best trainer money could buy.
We’ve got a few bucks stored away and precious little time to research what training options are even available in our area.
I guess what I’m making this post to say is if you are blaming yourself or down on yourself as a dog owner because of your reactive dog like I was, please cut yourself a little slack, god knows I needed to.
If a dog that nips (but doesn’t hurt!) people and that poops on the floor once in a while and that sometimes plays too rough and is just a general mess can make it to the White House, well, it makes me feel a little better about my own mess at home.
Captain Trips the anxious dog, image: Vivian Kane
(image: MANDEL NGAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
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