Jul 25, 2024 - Sports
Fans across the internet celebrate retirement of Clearwater Threshers bat dog
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Our queen among men. Photo: Clearwater Threshers
Clearwater Threshers bat dog Layla retired on Friday, and a video of her last round of fetch amassed thousands of well wishes from across the internet.
State of play: "14/10 happy retirement, Layla," the popular account We Rate Dogs wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in a post with more than 6 million views.
- Before her six-year bat dog career, the pup, now 13, was just a humble beer dog, fetching cold ones for her owner, Andrew Davis, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
- Davis sent a video to the team, and they responded, "You think your dog could fetch bats?" The rest is history.
Fun fact: Fans can bring their dogs to the team's Beach Dogs Fridays games.
- The last one of the season is Aug. 23, with dog ticket sales ($7 per dog) benefiting the Humane Society of Pinellas.
The bottom line: "Dogs and baseball are universal," team spokesperson Robert Stretch tells Axios.
