Biden’s dog Commander: Gone from the White House, but not its official Easter eggs

Judy Kurtz
·2 min read
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(The Hill) – He’s no longer living in the executive mansion, but Commander is still one of the stars of this year’s official White House Easter eggs.

The colorful eggs, considered the “official keepsake” of the White House Easter Egg Roll scheduled to take place in April, were unveiled by the White House Historical Association on Friday.

President Joe Biden's dog Commander, a German shepherd, is walked outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, April 29, 2023. Commander has bitten another U.S. Secret Service employee. A uniformed division officer was bitten by the dog around 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 25, at the White House, and was treated on-site by medical personnel, said USSS chief of communications Anthony Guglielmi. The officer is doing just fine, he said. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Four of the five wooden eggs in the $32 set feature an image of a bunny immersed in a book on one side, and the south side of the White House on the other.

But the first pets, including Commander and cat Willow, get a prime spot on the so-called “Biden Blue” egg. The blue-colored egg shows the furry family members “enjoying their own favorite books.”

Commander, the Bidens’ two-year-old German Shepherd, reportedly bit Secret Service personnel at least 24 times before he was removed from the White House.

Responding to a CNN report last month about the biting incidents, Elizabeth Alexander, Jill Biden’s communications director, said that Commander “has lived with other family members” since the fall.

“Despite additional dog training, leashing, working with veterinarians, and consulting with animal behaviorists, the White House environment simply proved too much for Commander,” Alexander said, adding that the Bidens “care deeply about the safety of those who work at the White House and those who protect them every day.”

The White House announced earlier this week that its Easter Egg Roll, a tradition that dates back to the 1870s during the Rutherford B. Hayes administration, would be held on April 1.

It’s not the first time that the Biden pets have notched an enviable — or egg-viable — placement on the White House Easter egg. Champ and Major Biden, two of the president’s dogs, were featured on the 2021 official Easter egg.

Champ died in June of 2021, while Major was removed from the White House later that year and relocated to the Bidens’ family home in Delaware following several reported aggressive episodes.

“The White House Easter Egg Roll has been an American tradition for more than 145 years,” Stewart McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association, said in a statement.

“Each year these wooden eggs become a part of that tradition and a piece of White House history,” he said.

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