(Vienna) After Commander, the Bidens’ German shepherd forced to leave the White House because of his annoying tendency to bite, the dog of Moldovan President Maia Sandu is also making headlines.
He attacked Austrian head of state Alexander Van der Bellen on Thursday who wanted to caress him, during his visit to Chisinau.
The incident caused a minor injury but the image caused a reaction on social networks to the point that the 79-year-old manager posted a video on X on Friday.
Himself the owner of a canine that he likes to walk in the streets of Vienna, Mr. Van der Bellen defended Codrut, taken in a few months ago by Mme Sandu after being hit by a car.
“My first meeting with the First Dog of Moldova caused a bit of a stir,” he laughed, saying he understood the animal’s excitement. “He was nervous because of all the people around.”
This episode recalls the fate of Commander, who arrived as a puppy with the Biden couple in 2021 before having to leave the White House in October after a series of incidents.
But Codrut was not sanctioned. He even received a stuffed toy as a parting gift from the Austrian president, not holding a grudge.
In his video, the latter did not forget to recall the main reason for his trip to Moldova, in the company of his Slovenian counterpart Natasa Pirc Musar: to support Moldova’s accession to the European Union.
This small country neighboring Ukraine, which regularly denounces attempts to destabilize Russia, obtained the green light from Brussels at the beginning of November to open negotiations.