AR-News: (NJ - US) Chase-ing fame is a dog's life in Trenton

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Chase-ing fame is a dog's life in Trenton

                   By Wayne Parry
                   Of The Associated Press

                   TRENTON, N.J. | He works day and night, fetching bats from   the dirt near home plate, carrying water to the umpires, and sprinting and leaping through the outfield — all for little more than a rub on the tummy, or a yummy treat.

One of the biggest stars on a team of potential New York
Yankees is Chase, a golden retriever who's quite possibly the
only member of the Trenton Thunder not trying to impress
George Steinbrenner. The Thunder is the Yankees' Double-A
farm team, playing in the Eastern League.

He's shared  the spotlight
with the  visiting Derek
Jeter and Bernie Williams (who
nearly stepped on
him last summer), and
barely  blinked.
Indeed, more
fans seemed
to know the
name of the
bat dog than
any of the
players one
recent
afternoon.

''He's cool,'' said 6-year-old Madison Wright of Abington, Pa.,  who was greatly impressed when Chase trotted out to retrieve the bat left at home plate by each of the Thunder hitters during the bottom of the first inning.

''He picked up the bat and grabbed it with his mouth!'' she said  excitedly. ''I thought dogs couldn't do that because they would leave teeth marks.''

But Chase, short for ''Chase That Golden Thunder,'' has yet to leave so much as slobber on a bat.

''Golden retrievers are very soft-mouthed dogs,'' said Chase's owner, Thunder general manager Rick Brenner. ''They're a hunting dog by breeding. It's their nature when they bring back a bird not to puncture it.''

Chase, who will turn 4 years old on July 3, has a well-defined routine, starting with fetching dropped bats in the home half of the first inning.

That nearly led to serious trouble last July when Williams,
playing five games with Trenton while rehabbing an injured
knee, was unaware the team had a dog that picked up the
bats, and nearly stepped on him while returning to the plate
after hitting a foul ball.

The $87.5-million center fielder had to corkscrew out of the way, hopping awkwardly on one leg while the Thunder hierarchy (not to mention Yankees officials watching the game) held their breath.

''That was really funny,'' said Thunder catcher Dioner Navarro, the Yanks' top minor-league prospect. ''Nobody told Bernie there's a dog that comes there and gets the bat.''

Navarro is the player that spends the most time with Chase on
and off the field.

''I love him,'' Navarro said. ''When I first saw him, I said, 'Oh, he is so beautiful!' I started playing with him, and I just fell in love  with him. The only thing this dog can't do is talk.''

What he can do includes carrying a woven basket with bottles
of chilled water to the umpires in the sixth inning. Later in the game, in what appears to be his favorite trick, Chase runs down flying discs that Brenner tosses to him in the outfield, jumping up and catching them in his mouth, drawing huge cheers from the crowd.

''He's very much about pleasing people,'' Brenner said. ''He
loves kids and he's great around them.''

Chase even gets along well with Brenner's cat, Sweeper, which
occasionally goads him into a chase-tag game around Brenner's
Pennington home.

''She'll slap at his tail, and they'll run around until the cat has had enough,'' he said.

Even on his days off, Chase still fetches for Brenner.

''He gets the paper every morning at the end of the drive,'' he said. ''If mine's not there,
occasionally the neighbors will end up one paper short.''

Chase even has his own page on the Thunder's Web site, and T-shirts, foam paw prints, and
plush stuffed animal replicas of him are hot sellers in the team's gift shop. He visits between 100
to 150 schools in the offseason.

He occasionally works Lakewood Blue Claws games as well, as that minor-league team is owned
by the same group that owns the Thunder.

And on July 7, Chase will receive an honor few minor leaguers have ever gotten: His own  bobble-head doll. 

                   Copyright © 2004, The Morning Call