Amy E. Feldman
The President’s dog is in the doghouse.
While there are no doubt many people on Capital Hill whose bark is worse than their bite, that’s apparently not true of Commander, President Biden’s German shepherd. Commander has bitten secret service agents a total of ten times, which animal experts think is because he’s stressed out (who wouldn’t be with all the politicians around).
What happens if your dog bites someone? In most states including Pennsylvania, the owner of the dog is legally liable to a victim who was bitten even if the dog had never bitten anyone before. A dog bite victim can sue for the cost of medical treatment, psychological counseling, missed work, or damage to clothes. And if the dog is known to have bitten people, depending on the severity and frequency of the bites, it may be designated a dangerous dog, and might, by law, be required to be euthanized. Commander has now been relegated to a designated area away from people until he has been retrained and proves he deserves to be out of the doghouse.