Dogs Pitch In for Baseball

They could do it with nets, of course. A boat and a guy fishing home run balls from the drink next to PacBell Park.

But then you wouldn’t have the whiff of wet dog, the gallant but goofy leap into San Francisco Bay, the Splash Cam treating 42,000 Giants fans to the sight of a web-footed Portuguese water dog paddling along with a baseball in its mouth.

Plus, people love the Baysball dogs, a specially trained canine team that fetches home runs from McCovey Cove, an inlet abutting right field in the city’s new bayside ballpark. Yet the dogs, sponsored by Pets in Need, a no-kill shelter south of San Francisco, do more than work a watery outfield.

In a single season, the dogs have become a calling card for the shelter. Adoptions have doubled and volunteerism has soared. And while the Giants’ season may be over, work at Pets in Need has just begun.

“The BARK team has dramatically increased our visibility and given us a fun personality,” said Brenda Barnette, executive director of the shelter. “We’re in a fast growth spurt right now, and I believe it’s partly due to the dogs.”

BARK--the Baseball Aquatic Retrieval Korps--is the inspiration of comedian Don Novello, also known as Father Guido Sarducci of “Saturday Night Live” fame. When Novello heard that baseballs float, he immediately imagined a team of dogs fetching them from the bay.

Novello brought the idea to the Giants in 1996. Team officials were intrigued but logistics proved difficult. Novello worked the local press, talked with dog organizations, considered fielding his own canine team.

No luck. Then came Pets in Need.

Asked by a member of the shelter’s board of directors to “try to figure it out,” Barnette decided on the Portuguese water dog, an agile breed hardy enough to brave the bay and light enough to lift into a boat.

Within months, the six-member BARK team was formed. The dogs, all specially trained for their task, leap from boats that patrol the bay. Unable to see the balls in the choppy water, they follow hand and voice signals to make the recovery.

Although splash landings have been few this season--at least four for Barry Bonds and one for Dodger catcher Todd Hundley, in addition to a number of batting practice home runs--the dogs’ owners use down time for training.

“These are active dogs who need work to do,” said Sue D’Augusta, sitting aboard The Good Ship Jollipup, the BARK team’s official floating headquarters. Her 8-year-old dog, Shadow, content after a day on the water, which includes a treat after each swim, slept beside her.

“It’s good for Shadow and it’s good for the shelter,” D’Augusta said. “We’ve raised awareness of the shelter tremendously.”

Since it sponsored the BARK team, the shelter’s adoptions have doubled from 600 per year to a pace expected to hit 1,200 by next year. Fans of the dogs have become volunteers, and volunteers have become foster parents for scores of pets awaiting adoption.

Fund-raising has also become easier. The Giants gave $5,000 to Pets in Need, and the shelter hopes to someday auction off autographed balls that splashed into the bay.

There are other perks.

Pam Marcus, whose dog Rio has spent time in the Giants dugout and had his picture taken with Barry Bonds, said her dog occasionally gets recognized away from the ballpark.

“I think he really enjoys the ballgames,” Marcus said. “When we get near the ballpark he sniffs the air, his tail goes up and he starts whining. He wants to get to work.”

And BARK fans want to watch.

“The dogs are wonderful, and everyone is interested in them,” said Fred Steiner, 79. He and wife, Dorothy, 83, are ballpark regulars who often divide their time between the game and the dogs.

“They’re another facet of this wonderful place: dogs playing baseball,” Dorothy Steiner said. “I don’t know of any other city where this would happen.”

Other major league baseball teams do have links to pet rescue, however.

The Chicago White Sox host a Dog Day each August, including a pet parade around the warning track, bleacher seating for the pooches and a meet-and-greet with players. Proceeds go to charity. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays held a successful adoption fair, and the Minnesota Twins’ charity Dog Day included seating in a center field “Dog Out.”

Which makes good sense to dog lovers who also happen to be baseball fans.

“This is fun and all, but the main thing is the rescue work,” said Clara Travis, a visitor from Chicago who said she likes dogs more than she cares for baseball. “Anything that gets people to take responsibility for abandoned animals, I’m all for it.”