Biden’s Rescue Pup Becomes First Shelter Dog in the White House
Presidential pup ‘Major’ has his own ‘Indoguration’, after Biden adopted the German Shepherd from an animal shelter back in 2018.
Major’s adoption day back in 2018. Credit: Delaware Humane Association
The White House has welcomed its first ever shelter dog as German Shepherd Major Biden has his ‘Indoguration’.
Accompanying the new president Joe Biden, are his two German Shepherd dogs Major and Champ.
Biden had purchased Champ from a breeder back in 2008, and the resulting backlash saw Biden vow to adopt any future animal companions.
Biden then adopted shelter dog Major from the Delaware Humane Association in 2018.
“It doesn’t get more of a Cinderella story for a dog,” said Kitty Block, president of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). “And the timing couldn’t have been better.”
Block explains that Biden’s ‘timing’ reflects a wider trend in Americans choosing to adopt their companion animals rather than buying them from breeders. Just like Biden had once chosen to purchase a dog, but later adopted one instead, shelters have reported a rise in adoptions.
Part of that demand stems from the pandemic, which has seen more and more people seek company and companionship during lockdown.
But there has also been a huge increase in awareness over the last few years of the reasons to adopt-rather-than-shop, including repeated undercover investigations revealing animal cruelty on puppy mills, and how thousands of shelter animals are euthanized every week because they cannot find homes.
Over 600,000 ‘unwanted’ shelter animals were killed in 2019 according to statistics by the nonprofit Best Friends Animal Society.
Now, Major’s new home at the White House signals an ongoing positive trend in animal adoption that can help end America’s problem with puppy mills and pet shops.
Major hasn’t been the only dog to make headlines this week - find out here why Katy Perry’s pup has also got the internet talking.
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