The NHL’s Seattle Kraken has welcomed its first-ever team pup to the ice — a 4-month-old Husky mix named Davy Jones.
Davy started out as a homeless pup in Texas, then found his way to Dog Gone Seattle, a foster-based rescue organization in the Seattle area. He was adopted by Chris Scarbrough, lead developer of the Climate Pledge Arena (Kraken’s home arena) in Seattle and the Seattle Kraken app.
When looking for a team pup, Kraken had been set on adopting from a rescue or shelter. “We knew whichever pup was chosen would need to be good with people and especially children,” Chris says.
As the official team dog, Davy will be a community ambassador, appearing at events with the public and at some of the team’s home matches. Davy is also going to be trained as a licensed therapy dog, with the help of Canidae, the official Pet Food Nutrition Sponsor of Davy Jones and the Seattle Kraken, as well as the team dogs of five other NHL teams. Once he finishes training, the team hopes to use Davy at events that would benefit from a therapy dog, like hospital visits.
For now, Davy enjoys playing with his new teammates and stealing the show on the ice at home games. After his official debut, he’s already made quite a few friends both on the team and in the stands.
“He seems to love the attention,” Chris says. Unsurprisingly, he also loves watching hockey. “He actually follows the puck!”
When not on the job, Davy spends the day playing with the Scarbrough’s other dog, Doug.
The team hopes that, above all else, Davy brings people a moment of happiness. “When he’s old enough, he’ll be trained as a therapy dog, where he can bring a sense of calmness and warmth to someone who needs it,” Chris says. “He definitely has the ability to do it.”
Follow Davy’s adventures on Twitter @DavyJonesDoggo.
