WASHINGTON — Hurricane and Jordan, a pair of Secret Service dogs who were injured as they helped take down a White House fence jumper, got the all-clear to return to duty Thursday and quickly became stars for the beleaguered agency.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest hailed the duo at a daily press briefing Thursday and the Secret Service tweeted out their service pictures and mini-bios: “Jordan — black/tan Belgian Malinois, brown eyes, age 5, enjoys walks around (the) White House.”
Jordan and Hurricane, age 6, were taken to a veterinarian Wednesday and treated for “minor bruising,” Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said. They were later released and “cleared to return to duty by the veterinarian,” Leary said.
News footage of the incident showed the intruder wrestling and kicking the dogs on the North Lawn of the White House.
Dominic Adesanya, 23, of Bel Air, Md., was charged with two felony counts of assault on a police officer — the dogs. He was also charged with four counts of resisting/unlawful entry and one count of making threats.
Adesanya, who was unarmed at the time of his arrest and was treated at a local hospital for dog bites, was in custody with the U.S. Marshals Service for previous outstanding warrants, and a court date was pending.
His capture after vaulting the fence was a bit of good news for the agency, which has been pilloried since last month when a man with a knife scaled the fence, ran across the lawn and got inside the White House before he was apprehended.
The dog teams that protect the White House were not released last month, and fans of Hurricane and Jordan quickly suggested Thursday that the doggy duo be awarded a presidential medal.
“That would have made for a good photo op, wouldn’t it?” Earnest said Thursday, asked why the two didn’t accompany him to the daily press briefing.
“The animals that performed so bravely last night are not something that we come into regular contact with here,” Earnest said. “I think that there’s probably a good reason why these animals are kept at some remove from employees and others who frequent the grounds of the White House. I think the individual last night probably saw pretty vividly why we all keep our distance.”
