If you couldn't hide your disappointment that President Donald Trump didn't bring his pets into the Oval Office, you can finally breathe a sigh of relief: after Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden's inauguration on January 20 (opens in new tab), two very nice little moved into the White House with President Joe Biden (opens in new tab). Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill (opens in new tab), are the children of German Shepherds Major Biden and Champ Biden, ages 2 and 12, respectively. The First Family seems to take their role as pet owners very seriously, and prior to the election, they launched the Dog Lover's Campaign for Joe (opens in new tab) to reward the high level of canine support. [Among many other successive pet owners are the Obamas' two Portuguese water dogs, Sunny and Bo; JFK's hamsters, cats, canaries, dogs, ponies, and parakeets; and, of course, Calvin Coolidge's shockingly well-trained raccoon Rebecca.

The four-legged icons have already been immortalized in book form long before they strutted around as first pets. On January 19, the day before they took up residence in the East Wing, YA author Joy McCullough and illustrator Shayda Abubabi Best published a children's book called Champ and Major: First Dogs (opens in new tab).

Now that Major and Champ Biden are president (not actually in office, but you get the idea).

The Bidens brought Champ in from a breeder in Pennsylvania in late 2008. It was after Jill promised her husband that they could welcome the dog into the family after the election that year, Politico (open in new tab) reported at the time. The family announced on Christmas Day that they had named the puppy Champ, after the nickname Biden's father often used to stand up when he was knocked down. They reportedly chose the German Shepherd because Biden had owned, trained, and shown him since he was a child.

Champ already knows Washington, D.C., as Biden spent eight years there while serving as vice president. During that time, he showed up regularly with humans at official functions, and may or may not have been the catalyst for the Bidens to replace the carpeting (which opens with a new tab) in the vice president's official residence with easy-to-clean hardwood floors. Also, in what may be the purest incident to occur in Washington, Biden gave children he met through his vice presidential duties a chump (...) made a habit of handing out miniature stuffed animal versions (opens in new tab) of the

Chump is not only the president's best friend, but also Biden's fiercest protector and biggest supporter. I consider [him] secret service, and he is," Biden said of the elder dog in 2019 while campaigning in Iowa (open in new tab). Champ also appeared in a very compelling video (opens in new tab) a few days before the election, urging people to vote for humans.

Champ's brother Major has already made history by becoming the first ever shelter dog to live in the White House after the landmark inauguration (opens in new tab). The Bidens welcomed Major from the Delaware Humane Society in 2018. According to a post the shelter shared on Facebook at the time (opens in new tab), the Bidens had been fostering Major but decided instead to keep him entirely.

"Major was one of six puppies brought to DHA after coming into contact with something toxic in their home," the shelter wrote in another 2018 post (opens in new tab). 'When we posted about them, Joe Biden found out about them and contacted us right away. The rest is history."

Major Biden continues to be a proud alumnus of DHA, and just days before his father was sworn in as president, DHA held a fundraising "Indoguration" in Major Biden's honor. The DHA wrote in its announcement for the event, "From shelter dog at the Delaware Humane Society to White House First Dog, Major Biden is barking proof that all dogs can live the American Dream."

The live-streamed event raised an impressive $200,000 for the Humane Society on January 17. The event was hosted by Today host Jill Martin and featured interviews with several shelter cats who are campaigning to be the Bidens' next pets (Jill has previously said she would love to add a feline friend to her family), a "Doggie in the Window" by Josh Groban (How Much There was also a rousing rendition of "Is That Doggie in the Window". Yes, really.

Major came into the Bidens' lives at the perfect time, just as they were beginning to think about adding to their family as a way to give Champ more energy. The vet said, 'Your Shepherd is 12 years old. He is slowing down. The best way to cheer him up is to get another little puppy,'" the Bidens said during the same 2019 Iowa election cycle.

And while the Bidens have not revealed the origin of Major's name, or whether they chose it themselves, NBC News (opens in new tab) notes that their late son Beau Biden was a major in the Delaware National Guard, so it may have sentimental value to the president-elect It points out.