Chase the Golden Thunder

Me - Chase, wow! I love the Trenton Thunder, a minor league baseball team. In 2002, the Thunder recruited
Chase as their bat dog. That is one of the special things about the Thunder. Not too long ago, Chase retired. For the game that he retired, everyone was allowed to bring their dog. I thought we should have dressed up one of our cats and put her on a leash and brought her. A few days later, my Mom read on-line that he had passed away. I was sad, and I felt bad for his son, Derby. When I was about 7 and Aurella was about 3, I was a fan of the day at a Thunder game. I was in a really bad mood and I was cranky because I was supposed to go to my friend's house. Then, when we got to the baseball game, they picked me to be fan of the day. Mom, Aurella and I got to go on the field. Aurella and I got to have our picture taken with Chase and Derby. Also, we got to pet them. I even have a Chase stuffed animal. He is a brown dog with a bat in his mouth and a bandana around his neck that says Chase. I have had him for a long time now. The bat fell out of his mouth and the bandana came off his neck. Chase will always hold a special place in my heart.

Mom - We love our Trenton Thunder, a minor league baseball team, an affliate of the New York Yankees. Since the 2002 baseball season one of the things that has made the Thunder unique is their bat dog, Chase. Chase would retrieve the bats after a Trenton player batted. He did not work every at bat or even every game. He usually appeared in the first inning of games. Seeing him was always one of the pleasures of going to a Thunder game. In later years, he was joined by his son, Derby. A few years ago, Melia was the fan of the day. Melia and her sister, Aurella and I got to go on the field before the game. Melia and Aurella got to pet Chase and Derby and have their picture taken with them. On July 5, 2013, Chase retired on his 13th birthday. We were lucky enough to be at that game. This time Aurella was even picked as the fan of the game. We did get to go on the field again, but this time the girls didn't get to pet the dogs. There were actually four dogs on the field at the game: Chase, Derby, and two of Chase's grandchildren. There were dogs in the stands as well as it was a bark in the park game where people were free to bring their dogs. I never knew there were so many dogs that could be so well behaved for so long. A few days later, Chase died.  There are still two bat dogs in the minor leagues. Derby has taken over for Chase, and Derby's brother, Ollie, is the bat dog for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Our family will still enjoy going to the Thunder and seeing Derby, but we will miss seeing Chase.
 
And that's our view.

Tune in tomorrow for Funny Friday.