Splash Hits Al Dente

This is Pets In Need’s third season producing the Baseball Aquatic Retrieval Korps (B.A.R.K.) for the San Francisco Giants. During Sunday home games, trained diving dogs are stationed on a boat and two dinghies in McCovey Cove, next to PacBell Park, ready to retrieve splash down balls hit over the right field wall.

There have been splash hits on other days, but for the first time while B.A.R.K. was in the cove, Barry Bonds’ 609th homerun was a splash hit. Rio, team captain, was ready to retrieve. Rio dove into the water before the ball landed and was within reach of the ball when a man in a kayak raced in and netted the baseball, scooping it away from Rio.

When the team was introduced on the field at the beginning of this season comedian Father Guido Sarducci, creator of the B.A.R.K. concept and “spiritual advisor” to the Team, asked the crowd to let the dogs have the splash hit baseballs during Sunday home games. In fact, he suggested that all Sunday splash hits be retrieved al dente or with the teeth—whether human or canine.

Rio’s trainer, Pam Marcus, may have been the most disappointed of all last Sunday, but she and the other team members were just grateful that Rio had not been hurt. There is something unfair in the competition between a dog swimming unassisted in the Bay and a man in a kayak with a net, but McCovey Cove is a public waterway.

On the other hand, we were very moved by the reaction of fans who cheered for the dogs and booed the kayaker. This was the first real indication of the intense loyalty of our fans. Several media outlets also voiced support of Pets In Need’s B.A.R.K. program and expressed disappointment that Rio was not allowed to retrieve the ball.

It has been my experience that emotions sparked in people by one unfair human act can benefit animals in unexpected ways. A veterinarian doing rescue work after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center said that a young woman pressed a folded check into his hand saying she wanted to help the animals in some small way. It was not until he arrived home and looked at the crumpled check that he discovered she had given him $10,000 to help the animal victims of the tragedy. Goodness and kindness are powerful qualities.

September 15th and September 29th are the last Sunday home games for the San Francisco Giants and the Pets In Need B.A.R.K. Team this season. If you would like to see these diving dogs who are raising awareness for abandoned animals everywhere, come visit us on the Port Walk at PacBell Park. Batting practice starts at 10:30 AM.

 
Founded in 1965, Pets In Need receives no federal, state or local government support.

Published in the San Mateo County Times, September 21, 2002