Liz Saville-Roberts, a British member of Parliament, gets a lick from rescue dog Fiona at the Westminster Dog of the Year competition in London on Sept. 8, 2016. The annual competition is open to all parliamentarians' dogs and to promote responsible dog ownership and develop a partnership on dog welfare issues. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Maeghan Hadley, who runs 1 Day Ranch, a rescue and rehabilitation program for abused and neglected dogs and horses, holds a rescue dog at 1 Day Ranch in Bethel Acres, Okla., on Oct. 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
A Chihuahua rescue dog named Giganton, "giant" in Spanish, looks out from his cage at the Northeast Valley Animal Care Center in Mission Hills, Calif., on Dec. 18, 2009. The dog was part of the "Project Flying Chihuahuas,'' an initiative transporting Chihuahuas to the East Coast for adoption. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Baxter, a 3-year-old rescue dog, watches runners in the New York City Marathon in the Queens borough of New York on Nov. 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)
Muttshack Animal Rescue Foundation founder Amanda St. John, from Los Angeles, cuddles a rescue dog at a shelter in New Orleans on Oct. 15, 2005. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)
A recently rescued dog is seen May 21, 2008, at Stray Rescue of St. Louis. The shelter beat out 1,000 other entries from around the country to win a $1 million animal shelter makeover from Zootoo.com. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Anita Uhrman, left, and her daughter Margo pose for a picture with their dogs, pit bull Shayna, a rescue dog, and Zuess, in the yard of their Moreland Hills, Ohio, home on May 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)
Manuel Aguirres, a student at Linford Elementary School in Laramie, Wyo., gets a kiss from Moose, a seven-year-old golden retriever rescue dog, during a classroom visit on Nov. 2, 2007. (AP Photo/Laramie Boomerang, Andy Carpenean)
Gina Knight, left, and her daughter Victoria, 15, spend time with the family pet, Liesl, a 3-year-old rescue dog, in Dallas on May 7, 2010. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Baltic the dog, rescued from an ice floe on the Baltic Sea, poses with his rescuer Adam Buczynski in Poland on Jan. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Andrzej J. Gojke)
A rescue dog walks down stairs at the Good Newz Rehab Center, the former home of NFL football quarterback Michael Vick's Bad Newz kennel in Smithfield, Va., on June 15, 2015. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Boston Red Sox baseball player David Ortiz, left, holds a rescue dog named Nacho as he poses with actor Josh Duhamel, right, holding a rescue dog named Charlie, while they help launch Pedigree Brand's "See what good food can do" documentary-style campaign to help shelter dogs during the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 20, 2014, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP)
In this June 15, 2015, photo, a rescue dog looks out a window at visitors during a tour of the Good Newz Rehab Center, the former home of NFL football quarterback Michael Vick's dogfighting operation in Smithfield, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
A rescue dog is pictured during an event celebrating a Phoenix program in which thousands of rehabilitated pets have found forever homes through adoption. (Rick Scuteri/AP Images for PetSmart Charities)
This photo provided by Cameron Gaeren shows rescue dog Zack, right, who joined a household that already included Roxy, left, in their home in Chicago, Ill. (Cameron Gearen via AP)
Boston Red Sox baseball player David Ortiz poses with a rescue dog named Charlie to help launch Pedigree Brand's "See what good food can do" documentary-style campaign to help shelter dogs during the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, Jan. 20, 2014, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP)
WASHINGTON — The first dogs have entered the White House.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden’s two German shepherds, Champ and Major, officially joined the first family Sunday in their new residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
“The first family wanted to get settled before bringing the dogs down to Washington from Delaware,” first lady Jill Biden’s press secretary Michael LaRosa told CNN in a statement Monday. “Champ is enjoying his new dog bed by the fireplace, and Major loved running around on the South Lawn.”
The Bidens’ dogs moving in marks a return to a longstanding tradition of presidents and their families bringing their pets with them to the White House. Former President Donald Trump and his family did not have any pets for the four years they lived in the White House.
Champ has been with the Biden family for more than 10 years — since December 2008, weeks after Biden became Barack Obama’s vice president-elect.
Major, a shelter dog, joined the Biden family more recently. He was adopted in November 2018, months before Biden announced he would run for president in the 2020 election cycle.
Major is the first shelter dog to live in the White House. Earlier this month, the Delaware Humane Association, from where he was adopted, and Pumpkin Pet Insurance hosted a virtual celebration — an “Indoguration Party” — for Major.
Though he is the first shelter dog at the White House, Major is not the first rescue pet. A shelter often receives government funding, whereas animal rescues are often completely run by volunteers.
Former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s daughter, Luci, rescued a mixed-breed pup named Yuki, abandoned by his owner at a gas station in Texas. Former President Bill Clinton’s family cat, Socks, was also a rescue.
Jill Biden has also said she would “love to get a cat,” telling Fox 5 in Washington, “I love having animals around the house.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday she did not have an update about the cat.
“I’m also wondering about the cat because the cat is going to dominate the internet whenever the cat is announced and wherever that cat is found,” Psaki said in a Sunday evening video answering questions posed on Twitter.
The tradition of keeping pets in the White House dates back to Thomas Jefferson, who kept a mockingbird and a couple of bear cubs during his presidency. Throughout the years, presidential pets have become celebrities of sorts.
25 photos to celebrate rescue dogs
Here’s a gallery of 25 photos to celebrate rescue dogs around the world.
