North Carolina is one of the best college baseball teams in the country, and some of the success could be attributed to a furry secret weapon.
The 47-12, No. 2-ranked Tar Heels have been joined in the dugout and training room all season by a 2-year-old golden retriever service dog named Remington. Remington was brought to the team by Terri Jo Rucinski, who serves as the team’s trainer. She loves dogs and wanted to incorporate them into her work, and she was able to do so through the paws4people program, which gave her the assistant dog.
Remington is credited with helping to keep the spirits of the players uplifted, especially those who are doing difficult rehab. You can see his effect on the team in this video put together by the school. One of the players even says he has a bond with Remi that is similar to any he has with his teammates.
Remi joined the team in August. As you can see in the video, he can follow commands off cue cards and knows 100 different commands. He can high-five, fist bump players, and he brings water to umpires. He also holds his hat or glove for the national anthem.
Remington has his own Instagram account with over 2,000 followers. You can see him at work and hanging with his teammates in the photos.
Here’s Remi in the training room helping a player rehab:
Here he is providing encouragement against a rival:
Part of the team for the national anthem:
