Bat Dogs, A Grateful Son Pays Loving Tribute to His Late Father by Following In His Famous Paw Prints

The 2015 ESPN documentary “E:60” tells the wonderful story of Chase, the famous bat retrieving dog who served the Trenton Thunder baseball team for the greater part of his life, as amusingly told by his son Derby. Derby had been trained to follow in his father’s paw prints since the day he was born and offers his unique perspective on his father’s illustrious career which included being honored at Yankee Stadium shortly before his death in 2013.

For 56 years, that’s eight in human years, Dad fetched bats for the Thunder. But by 2010, the spotlight began to wear on him. As much as dad loved being at the field. In 2012 arthritis forced him to retire. In 2013 dad went to see the vet, I could tell the news was bad. Then he began taking a lot of medicine that made him really tired. He didn’t want to play anymore. If it’s ever touched your life, you know cancer sucks. Tributes poured in even got invited to Yankee Stadium. He finally made it to the big leagues.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.