GERMAN SHEPHERD LOVED A ‘BELLY RUB’

The Bidens have issued a statement on Twitter after the death of their pet Champ: “Our hearts are heavy today as we let you all know that our beloved German Shepherd, Champ, passed away peacefully at home.

“He was our constant, cherished companion during the last 13 years and was adored by the entire Biden family.

“Even as Champ’s strength waned in his last months, when we came into a room, he would immediately pull himself up, his tail always wagging, and nuzzle us for an ear scratch or a belly rub.”

JOE & JILL BIDEN’S BELOVED DOG CHAMP DIES

President Biden announced on Saturday that his family’s beloved pet German Shepherd Champ passed away.

The president and first lady released a heartbreaking statement saying the 13-year-old dog passed away “peacefully at home”.

DID BIDEN’S POOCHES EVER BITE ANYONE?

On March 8 it was reported that the two dogs were moved to Biden’s home in Delaware after Major allegedly had a “biting incident” with a White House security member.

The extent of the injury to the security staff was not immediately known.

But the injury was serious enough that Major and Champ were taken back to Wilmington, Delaware, according to a report by CNN.

On March 24, it was reported the two dogs were back at the White House.

However, on March 29, Major was reportedly involved in another biting incident that required medical attention.

GOLF-MAD CHAMP ‘STOLE MANY HEARTS’

Champ got his share of the limelight when the then-vice president showed him off in an interview with CBS in 2015, reported ABC News.

“When Biden asked Champ if he wanted to go play golf, the dog eagerly began yelping with excitement, stealing some hearts as he did,” the broadcaster added.

CHAMP IN ‘SECRET SERVICE’

While campaigning in Iowa during the 2020 election Joe Biden commented on his beloved dog, Champ.

He told people: “I have two German shepherds. One thinks he’s Secret Service and he is.

“And the other one is a puppy. My vet said, ‘your shepherd’s 12 -years-old. He’s getting slow. The best thing to keep him going is get another little puppy.'”

JOE HAS HAD GERMAN SHEPHERDS SINCE HE WAS KID

Champ’s health had declined, due in large part to his advanced age, says CNN.

US President Joe Biden has had a long relationship with the breed.

He said in an interview shortly after getting Champ: “I’ve had German Shepherds since I was a kid.”

MORE REACTIONS TO CHAMP’S PASSING

Plenty of dog lovers are stilling tweeting their condolences to the Bidens after they announced the passing of their pet German Shepherd, Champ.

Some have advised US President Joe Biden to keep an eye on his other pooch, Major, “so he doesn’t get lonely”.

But for others the announcement has sparked memories of their own beloved dogs.

JOE BIDEN’S NICKNAME WAS ‘CHAMP’

Champ the German Shepherd was a month old when Biden picked him out of a litter from a breeder in Spring City, Pennsylvania, reports CNN.

The broadcaster adds that he got Champ in line with a promise by Jill Biden, who said he could get a dog if he and Barack Obama won the presidential election.

During the 2008 holidays, the Biden grandchildren helped to name the new puppy Champ.

This was an homage to the nickname Joe Biden’s dad called his son, according to Biden’s press secretary at the time.

BIDENS TO ‘BREAK INTERNET’ WITH CAT

The Bidens’ other pooch, Major, also a German shepherd, has had some trouble adapting to life in the White House.

In March, he was briefly sent back to the Biden family home in Delaware after at least one biting incident, and in April the first lady’s spokesman announced some “additional training” for the pooch.

Joe Biden attributed the pooch’s unpresidential behavior to the way he gets surprised by Secret Service agents and others appearing around every corner in the busy White House complex.

The dog-loving Bidens have also announced they were getting a cat, which Press Secretary Jen Psaki once warned would “break the internet.”

GERMAN SHEPHERDS MOVED INTO THE WHITE HOUSE

Major and Champ were the two German shepherds owned by Joe Biden when the president moved in to the White House.

Champ has been with the family since 2008, when Biden was elected vice president. The 13-year-old German Shepard passed away on June 19, the White House wrote in a statement.

“Our hearts are heavy today as we let you all know that our beloved German Shepherd, Champ, passed away peacefully at home. He was our constant, cherished companion during the last 13 years and was adored by the entire Biden family,” the statement said.

“In our most joyful moments and in our most grief-stricken days, he was there with us, sensitive to our every unspoken feeling and emotion. We love our sweet, good boy and will miss him always.”

POOCH ‘LOVED SUNNING HIMSELF IN WHITE HOUSE GARDEN’

The Bidens’ tribute to Champ adds: “Wherever we were, he wanted to be, and everything was instantly better when he was next to us.

“He loved nothing more than curling up at our feet in front of a fire at the end of the day, joining us as a comforting presence in meetings, or sunning himself in the White House garden.”

‘OUR HEARTS ARE HEAVY’

Joe Biden’s family dog Champ has died, the president said on Saturday, remembering the German shepherd as a “constant, cherished companion during the last 13 years.”

The Bidens revived the long-standing tradition of presidential pets that was broken under Donald Trump, when they arrived at the White House with dogs Champ and Major.

“Our hearts are heavy today as we let you all know that our beloved German shepherd, Champ, passed away peacefully at home,” the president and First Lady Jill Biden said in a statement.

“In our most joyful moments and in our most grief-stricken days, he was there with us, sensitive to our every unspoken feeling and emotion,” they added. “We love our sweet, good boy and will miss him always.”

NO PETS IN THE WHITE HOUSE WHEN TRUMP PRESIDENT

The arrival of Champ and Major marked the return of pets to the White House.

This was after a four-year hiatus under former President Donald Trump.

He was the first president since Andrew Johnson in the 1860s not to share the presidential digs with a dog or a cat.

NEW CAT TO JOIN BIDEN HOUSEHOLD

Champ, who showed his age in recent months in his graying fur and slower gait, was often a tranquil presence for the Bidens, reports the Associated Press.

Joe Biden tweeted: “Our family lost our loving companion Champ today. I will miss him.”

The Bidens are expected to bring a cat to the White House to join the family sometime soon, the news agency adds.

MAJOR’S BITING ISSUES

Major has drawn headlines for his bad behavior in the past.

The pooch caused Biden to suffer a foot injury in November, after the then-president-elect tripped over the younger dog while they were playing.

Major and Champ were brought home to Delaware at one point.

But Major went through training after the younger dog had two separate biting incidents at the White House and an unknown dog appeared to have pooped in a White House hallway.

MAJOR TO CONSOLE BIDENS

Champ’s passing leaves the Bidens with their younger German Shepherd, Major, whom the family adopted from the Delaware Humane Society in 2018.

The Bidens could occasionally be seen walking their two dogs on the White House South Lawn.

Plus, the dogs sometimes would join the president on trips to Camp David or visits home in Delaware.

CHAMP A ‘COMFORTING PRESENCE’

The Bidens got Champ from a breeder after Biden was elected vice president in 2008.

Champ was a fixture at the vice president’s residence at the Naval Observatory and the White House.

In their statement, the Bidens said that when Champ was young, he was “happiest chasing golf balls on the front lawn of the Naval Observatory, and that more recently he enjoyed joining us as a comforting presence in meetings or sunning himself in the White House garden”.

BIDENS SPENDING WEEKEND IN DELAWARE AS THEY MOURN PASSING OF CHAMP

President Joe Biden announced Saturday that Champ, the older of the familys two dogs, had died peacefully at home.

The German shepherd was 13 years old.

“He was our constant, cherished companion during the last 13 years and was adored by the entire Biden family,” Biden and first lady Jill Biden said in a statement posted to the presidents official Twitter account.

The Bidens are spending the weekend at their home in Wilmington, Delaware.

GERMAN SHEPHERDS

Major and Champ were the two German shepherds owned by Joe Biden when the president moved in to the White House.

Champ has been with the family since 2008, when Biden was elected vice president. The 13-year-old German Shepard passed away on June 19, the White House wrote in a statement.

“Our hearts are heavy today as we let you all know that our beloved German Shepherd, Champ, passed away peacefully at home. He was our constant, cherished companion during the last 13 years and was adored by the entire Biden family,” the statement said.

“In our most joyful moments and in our most grief-stricken days, he was there with us, sensitive to our every unspoken feeling and emotion. We love our sweet, good boy and will miss him always.”

DOGS LOVE BEING AROUND THE BIDENS

Jill Biden told Kelly Clarkson’s talk show that the family dogs’ companionship was constant, reports CNN.

She said: “They like to be wherever we are.

“Even if my door’s closed, they’re sitting right outside the door like, ‘Let me in! Let me in!'”

WHERE DID CHAMP DIE?

Champ passed away at the Bidens’ family home in Wilmington, Delaware, a White House official told CNN.

The broadcaster said that the dog’s health had recently declined, due in large part to his advanced age.

Jill Biden said on Kelly Clarkson’s talk show in February that Champ and Major had to ‘take the elevator’ when they moved to the White House.

She added: “They have to take the elevator, they’re not used to that, and they have to go out on the South Lawn with lots of people watching them.

“So that’s what I’ve been obsessed with, getting everybody settled and calm.”

CHAMP ‘PASSED AWAY PEACEFULLY’

President Joe Biden announced today that his family’s beloved pet German Shepherd Champ passed away.

The president and first lady released a heartbreaking statement saying the 13-year-old dog passed away “peacefully at home”.

“He was our constant, cherished companion during the last 13 years and was adored by the entire Biden family,” the statement said.

It added: “Even as Champ’s strength waned in his last months, when we came into the room, he would immediately pull himself up, his tail always wagging, and nuzzle us for an ear scratch or a belly rub.

“Wherever we were, he wanted to be, and everything was instantly better when he was next to us.”

DOG LOVERS OFFER CONDOLENCES TO BIDENS

There has been loads of sympathy shared with the Bidens after it was announced that their ‘beloved’ dog Champ had passed away.

One woman tweeted: “He waited for his dad to get home before he left. That breaks my heart.”

Another commented: “Nooo! Champ was a good boy!”

Caring Rev. Carrie O, meanwhile, offered prayers, tweeting: “My heart goes out to all the Biden family.

“It’s so devastating to lose a beloved pet. They are members of our family that forever leave an impact on our lives. Prayers ascending in your grief.”

FULL STATEMENT FROM US PRESIDENT AND FIRST LADY ABOUT CHAMP’S DEATH

President Joe Biden tweeted: “Our family lost our loving companion Champ today. I will miss him.”

Here is the full statement shared on Twitter after the sad passing of his and Jill’s 13-year-old ‘beloved’ German Shepherd, Champ.

The couple said their hearts “are heavy”.

BIZARRE RANT ABOUT CHAMP

In February the Sun Online reported that Champ had been branded “dirty” and “unpresidential” in a bizarre attack on TV.

His appearance caught the eye of Newsmax host Greg Kelly, who criticized the German Shepherd as a picture of the dog flashed up on screen.

“Doesn’t he look a little rough? I love dogs, but this dog needs a bath and a comb and all kinds of love and care,” Kelly said.

Twitter users leapt to the dog’s defense after the comments by the pair.

One said: “Champ is a 12 year old German shepherd. That’s about as old as they come.” Another tweeted: “What kind of human criticizes a beautiful doggo?! Champ is a handsome boy.”