With Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election last weekend, some new furry faces will be moving into the White House. Two German Shepherds, named Champ and Major, will not only be getting attention because they are bringing dogs back to the White House, but also because Major will be the first rescue dog to live in the White House.

After fostering him, the Bidens adopted Major “from the Delaware Humane Association in 2018”, WGN reports. He and Champ can be seen on their owners’ social media pages. The shelter announced the good news of Major’s adoption on their social media back in 2018.

Adopting and fostering is very important to saving animals because shelters are often short on resources and space, which unfortunately leads to euthanizing  some animals. According to One Green Planet, fostering is a step in the right direction for helping shelters be available to assist more animals. When animals are taken care of in a foster home, they get used to household life, its sounds, and have a safe space to recover from any injuries while receiving love and care.

Anything that the foster parents of an animal teaches them, such as bathroom habits, tricks, and obedience, can help get the pet adopted to its forever home. The home setting can be crucial in seeing an animal’s personality because oftentimes when an animal is put in a shelter, they ‘shut down,’ whereas when they are in a home, they are more likely to be happy and act like themselves.

Adopting from a shelter is important for similar reasons as to fostering. Rescuing a pet from a shelter not only gives that animal a loving forever home, but it provides space in the shelter to help and care for other animals in need. Local shelters in our area include Save-a-Pet Inc., Animal Outreach Humane Society, Wagging Hearts, and Orphans of the Storm.

If you are interested in helping these animals but not able to adopt or foster, you can help by donating supplies or  making a monetary donation to keep these shelters functioning. Also, you can research any shelter and they will give you specific information on qualifications for becoming a foster home for animals and/or what animals there are to adopt. Lakes has a club dedicated to helping animals as well, Paws 4 Change, if you are interested in learning more about helping these shelter animals.

Major becoming the first rescue dog in the White House brings attention to the need for shelters to be supported through fostering, adoption, and donations in order to help the most animals possible.