Behind the scenes with Blitz, the most popular dog in Boise
Blitz is in his fourth year retrieving bats for the Boise Hawks and kicking tees for the Boise State Broncos.
This article was originally published by Brady Frederick for KTVB7, to read the full article and view the video, please visit https://www.ktvb.com/article/sports/baseball/hawks/national-dog-day-behind-the-scenes-with-blitz-the-most-popular-dog-in-boise/277-fc804425-6377-4267-9556-2e6444256289
Fans in the Treasure Valley love their sports, and the stars who play them. But through the years, there might not be a bigger icon then the best boy them all- Blitz.
Blitz is an American Field Lab, but better suited as a retriever. He collects baseball bats for the Boise Hawks and kicking tees for the Boise State football team.
Sometimes the fans are cheering louder for him than the players.
"Yeah I guess you could say so," said Micah Yonamine, a first baseman Boise Hawks "Blitz brings the energy to the crowd, so I think that's good for the team. But he definitely leaves some bite marks on the bat, so it's a win-lose sometimes."
When he's not out on the field, Blitz hangs out at positive pets dog training, helping teach the young dogs who want to grow up to be just like him.
"He is a huge goofball off the field," said Ayla Garner, Blitz's handler, and lead trainer at Positive Pets. Ayla agreed that she has the coolest job in Boise, but Blitz takes his job very seriously as well.
"I think almost and job across the board loves having something to do, something to work towards. He gets super excited on game days. He knows (when he puts on) his bandana, he knows when we pull into the stadium."
In a way, Blitz is actually rooting for the home teams: a base hit or a touchdown means he gets to run out to the field and do his job.
Although, he's still learning some of the finer details of the sports.
"There's a lot of times at the hawks games where they'll hit a foul ball, and he'll hear the ball hit the bat, and be like 'um I heard it, why are we not going?".
His work even sent him on business trip, meeting the broncos at SoFi Stadium for the LA Bowl.
"Super fun little road trip we got to do, we got to go to a go beach" -Ayla
At halftime, Blitz raced bowl game host and NFL legend Rob Gronkowski, who came in with a strategy
"I'm gonna bring my best, I'm gonna try and distract Blitz that's my technique. You can tell him as much as you want that I'm going to distract him, I don't think he's gonna listen to you guys," Gronkowski said, predicting a win.
Sure enough, Gronk knows his dogs. Blitz got confused after crossing paths with the former tight end. Gronkowski won with sportsmanship, giving Blitz some bacon out of his pocket after the race.
Blitz is carrying on a tradition. His dad was the original Boise State tee dog, the late great Cowboy Kohl, the head of an accomplished working family.
"Blitz has brothers and sisters who are bomb detection dogs, and work with search and rescue," Ayla said. "A lot of really cool stuff."
Keeping the family legacy alive, Blitz's half-brother Ripken took his talents to the Atlantic Coast, retrieving tees for the North Carolina State football team, and bats for the Durham Bulls.
Blitz has been hard at work wrapping up the baseball season and gearing up for his fourth year with the Boise State Football Team. He's excited to see the fans, and Buster Bronco (Ayla says the Mascots are Blitz's best friends) but mostly, He's excited to see a lot of touchdowns.
He's not fueled by treats or other rewards, it's in his genes -he's doing it all for the love of the game.
"His biggest reward is getting to do the job," Ayla said. "The adrenaline he gets when he gets to go out and get the tee and bring it back, is why he works."
You can watch Blitz retrieve bats for the Boise Hawks on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday home games, and retrieve tees at every BSU home football game.