Pets will soon make a return to the White House

Major Biden is getting an early start in the spotlight as a presidential pet after a play date ended with his owner, President-elect Joe Biden, suffering a broken foot.

As if that weren't enough for one weekend, it was also confirmed that Major will have to share the White House with, of all things, a cat.

In a few weeks, Major, fellow German Shepherd Champ and the yet-to-be determined feline are expected to make the move to the White House, providing their owners with a source of comfort, entertainment, drama and generally good PR.

Their arrival will mark a return to a long history of pets residing at the White House after a four-year hiatus during the Trump administration.

According to Tom Whalen, a presidential historian at Boston University, pets can make presidents more relatable to their pet-loving constituents.

"It's kind of like the 'one of us' concept here that everyone has pets, a cat or a dog or what have you, and when a president, the leader of the country, the leader of the free world really, is seen with a dog or a cat, you know, basically there is a bond that they have with their public," Whalen said Monday.

Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford had beloved dogs.

When he declared victory in the 2008 presidential race, Barack Obama told his daughters: "You have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House." Several months later, Bo joined the family, a gift from the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.

"From a presidential perspective, a dog, a cat or horse, they're great because they're nonjudgmental," Whalen said. "They're going to give you their unqualified love, and they're not going to criticize what you did in Somalia or how the economy is doing.

"The pets are always there for you. And I think presidents, whether you're a Democrat or Republican, need that kind of reassurance from time to time."