Red Wings remember Milo the bat dog

The celebration of the life of "The Goodest Boy," Milo the Bat Dog, continued with a T-shirt giveaway by the Rochester Red Wings on July 19.

The golden retriever, who won the hearts of Red Wings fans the Rochester community starting on June 1, 2019, succumbed to liver disease on May 7 this year. He was 7 years old.

Today's the day! 🥹

🎟️ https://t.co/207Vxfqf3n | @FlowerCityGroup pic.twitter.com/fAA5syxjFf

— Rochester Red Wings (@RocRedWings) July 19, 2023

The Red Wings first honored Milo with a special tribute night on June 16 in which his owner, Josh Snyder, threw out the first pitch. The celebration also included an in-memoriam video of the good boy showing highlights of his time as the Red Wings bat dog as well as his influence with fans, staff, players and coaches.

The T-shirt giveaway on July 19 was part of a series of Milo-centric promotions on Rochester's schedule before the canine's passing. The organization opted to move forward with each one.

"When Milo passed earlier this year, I think we realized very quickly how huge of an impact he had -- not just on our fans but our whole community," Red Wings general manager Dan Mason said. "And how he had just endeared himself to everybody in our town. It was a really sad time for his owner and for all our fans, and everyone here in the office who had gotten to know him.

"We told Josh, 'When the time is right, we're here for you and we'd like to do some sort of tribute for you when you're ready.' So, about a month passed, we paid tribute to Milo and his legacy and continue to though the Milo Making a Difference campaign."

For Milo 🥹 🫶 pic.twitter.com/apJ9KiEEEF

— Rochester Red Wings (@RocRedWings) June 16, 2023

Through that Milo Making a Difference campaign, the Red Wings partnered with the Flower City Group to raise thousands of dollars for local not-for-profit organizations including the Wounded Veteran Foundation, T.A.P.S., Bivona, SPCC, Veterans Outreach Center and Honor Flight. Money was raised for every bat Milo fetched and through the sale of Milo merchandise in the team store. In addition to performing during games, Milo was featured in Meet-and-Pet sessions at select games, offering fans a chance to say hello and get a selfie with “The Goodest Boy.”

"We had scheduled a series of Milo-themed giveaways," Mason said. "A five-card series featuring Milo and the T-shirt giveaway. It was really set in stone before anything happened. So we just continued to keep those on the schedule and pay tribute to the dog that everybody in Rochester fell in love with."

Milo was born on September 23, 2015. His owner, Snyder, picked him up from a family breeder in Lititz, Pa. Tim Doohan, the Red Wings' social media and promotions manager at that time, had the idea that he wanted to specifically train a dog to retrieve bats in front of Red Wings fans during a game. So, Doohan launched his search by contacting local dog-obedience schools and almost immediately connected with Snyder. In addition to doing an outstanding job at fetching bats, Milo immediately showed outgoing and loving demeanor endeared him to fans, staff, players, coaches and umpires.

The fan-favorite dog generated some of Rochester's loudest ovations when he fetched bats during Red Wings games, no matter the score. He worked two games in 2019 before Covid-19 canceled the 2020 season. That year, he was featured numerous times on Red Wings social media outlets, and his popularity continued to grow. He made a triumphant return to Innovative Field for two games in 2021, six games in 2022 and was scheduled for eight games in 2023. He delighted fans on Opening Day this year and again on Friday, April 28.

"Every team does a ton of promotions, and most of them the players don’t really take a keen interest in or notice, even," Mason said. "But when it came to Milo, the players really just enjoyed having him around and having him fetch their bats. He also drew quite a lot of fans to the ballpark, and the players enjoy playing in front of a big crowd. So nights that Milo was working, players looked forward to it and had as much fun as the fans did.

"Not having him around this year, it's definitely not been the same."