- The 2016 Petco Park Dog Days of Summer is Thursday June 2nd, click here to sign up!
The Padres sure know how to pawwww-ty as they continue to share their love for pets during baseball season which has been nothing short of adorable. Seriously, does any team show more public affection for pets than the San Diego Padres? I don’t think so.. I mean come on, they play out of Petco Park, the word “pet” is in the facility name! It might just be coincidence the ballpark is owned and named after the greatest brand in all of pet lifestyle, Petco.. but to be honest I don’t think it’s a coincidence. I believe the Petco people got together with the big shot MLB people a decided if they were going to invest in a stadium, then it would have to be a city that most certainly invests and celebrates their lifestyle, and what better place then San Diego! AKA ‘Pet City USA!’ Hey a girl can believe, right?!
Being a pet lifestyle blogger I cannot express my gratitude to work in a city where pet lifestyle crucial part of the community. I greatly applaud Petco Park, the people at Petco and the Petco Foundation for the outstanding work they do with the Padres organization in creating unique pet friendly experiences the fans can enjoy with their dogs annually at ball games or events. While every major baseball stadium will eventually host an annual ‘Dog Day’s of Summer event’ during a summer home game, no city has and I highly doubt will hit it out of the park with such PAW-SOMENESS like Petco Park. Every year, Petco Park and the Padres blow us away with the level of festivity they put into their pet friendly events. Wether it’s for a Padres autograph signing at a local Petco store, or the annual Dog Days of Summer- Petco and the Padres never disappoint! What makes these events so special is they set out with a purpose- to help benefit pet rescue group and programs. As of last year, Petco Park officially designated Sunday’s to be “Adoption Sunday’s” at every home game, where they agreed to host a different dog rescue group local to San Diego at every Sunday game to showcase dogs in need of forever homes. What better exposure for a rescue shelter than at a Petco Park ball-game!
This year, for the second year in a row, the Padres partnered up with San Diego’s Helen Woodward Animal Center for the Padres and Puppy calendar. The calendar is shot in Peoria Arizona during Padres Spring training and made it’s debut as a fan giveaway over the weekend at Sundays April 24th Petco Park home game. Inside the calendar you can see your Padres favorites from Tyson Ross, James Shields, and Matt Kemp posing with Helen Woodward puppies. This year I got the opportunity to interview Padres pitcher “Big Game James Shields” and get his reaction to the calendar for a special FOX Sports San Diego, SDLive show. Shields a huge dog lover, is the owner of a labrador and french bulldog. He went onto share with me that his dogs are like family, and it’s very important to him to help with animal welfare whenever get can. I really hope this Padres and Helen Woodward Puppy calendar presented by Petco continues for many years to come, because it sure it quite a special treat.
The great thing about Padres showing love for pets, especially their canine counterparts is this is not an idea we have to push on the players. Yes, San Diego is an overly pet friendly city and yes the team plays in a ball park named after the largest pet brand in the world, but the players on the team have been fond of sharing their love for pets as far back as we can remember. Over the years all-stars like pitchers Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner, and now James Sheilds as a Padre in his second year, have all publicly shown their love for dogs both in the media and off the field. Both Tyson Ross and Andrew Cashner are known to take their dogs with them to batting practice at Petco Park, as well on interviews and TV appearances at FOX Sports San Diego and other local news stations. Ross is owner of a pit bull mix he named Maverick, of which he rescued as a stray dog off the streets, and Cashner proud dog dad to a golden labrador named Lindsay. You can see follow the love these players have for their pups on their social media, especially Tyson Rosss love for Maverick on his Twitter, @TysonRoss.
It gives me great honor to cover these pet related stories with Petco Park and Padres for FOX Sports San Diego, home of the Padres game telecasts. Bringing me to an event I’ll be covering for my third year as a pet lifestyle reporter that I am especially excited about, the annual Petco Park Dog Days of Summer! This year Petco Park Dog Days Days of Summer will take place on the evening of Thursday, June 2nd. It will be extra special because Petco Park is unveiling a new feature where pet owners can enjoy an exclusive ballpark viewing experience with their dog . . I have already said too much! You will just have to tune in to my upcoming posts and TV features, and be sure to follow along when we make the announcement at the 2016 Petco Park Dog Days of Summer! If you are interested in attending Petco Park Dog Days of Summer CLICK here to download an application and get signed up! Up to 500 dogs will be permitted and an advance application is required. Dog Days of Summer is an annual event taking place at Petco Park where fans get to enjoy on field festivities with their dog before the game, followed by game viewing from the Petco Park outfield grass viewpoint. It’s a paw-some time, we hope to see you there!
