LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A trailblazing dog hung up his leash Friday night in his last game as the bat dog for the Las Vegas Aviators, which held a jersey night for the beloved pooch.
Thousands of fans in attendance donned blue “Finn the Bat Dog” jerseys.
Finn joined the team in 2016, endearing himself to fans by successfully retrieving bats for the hometown Aviators at Cashman Field and later Las Vegas Ballpark. His handler, Fred Hassen, talked with FOX5 before Friday’s game about what this last game means.
“It’s a pretty emotional game,” Hassen said. “Last game of the year, you know? All these years.”
Hassen described what it was like to get Finn ready to do his job.
“The only thing we really had to train him for was just to pick up the bat,” he said. “He was used to getting birds and balls and everything else, but not bats, so that was a little bit tough.”
As part of Friday’s on-field ceremony before the game, Finn received a parting gift from the team: a golden bat. Finn then retrieved the bats for the home team in the bottom of the first inning.
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