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Local shelters hope First Shelter Dog in White House encourages adopting

Posted at 7:55 PM, Nov 10, 2020
and last updated 2020-11-10 19:55:36-05

TAMPA, Fla. — Joe Biden's presidency will bring the “First Dog” back to the White House and the "First Shelter Dog" ever.

German shepherds — Champ and Major — will be joining the Bidens in the White House in January.

Major, who the Bidens adopted from the Delaware Humane Association, will be the nation’s first shelter dog.

Local shelters like the Humane Society of Tampa Bay say they are thrilled for shelter dogs to get a spotlight.

"We just love that because for the last 100 years, except for the last four, there have been White House dogs. Now there are two dogs and one of them is coming from a shelter. I think that says a lot, and reminds people that shelters have beautiful wonder animals that need a home," said Sherry Silk, Humane Society of Tampa Bay CEO.

The Bidens were able to foster Major first to make sure he would get along with Champ.

Silk says the Humane Society of Tampa Bay has a similar program where you “test drive” a shelter pet for a couple of weeks to see if it’s a good fit before deciding to adopt.

For more information on adopting a pet, visit humanesocietytampa.org.