Champ, the elder of the Biden family's two German shepherds, has died, the president and first lady announced Saturday.
The 13-year-old dog "passed away peacefully at home," President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden said in a statement.
Read the full statement from the Biden's:
"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.
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. In his younger days, he was happiest chasing golf balls on the front lawn of the Naval Observatory or racing to catch our grandchildren as they ran around our backyard in Delaware.
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."
The family got Champ as a puppy in 2008, and adopted their younger German shepherd, Major, from the Delaware Humane Society in 2018. Major is the first rescue dog to live in the White House.
Major received some additional training after this year after he was startled and injured a Secret Service agent.
