With dog days becoming increasingly popular at the Greater Nevada Field, the Reno Aces will now hold six of them this season, with the next one April 28th starting at 1 p.m.
As fans entered with their canine companions earlier this month for the first dog day of this season, Craig Etem, came in with two of them.
“I had dogs when I was a kid but then I didn't have them for a long time or when our girls were young, but after having dogs, I can't imagine living without them. They’re just so in-tune, it's just awesome. And coming to the games, it's our favorite day at the ballpark. We have season tickets. We come to games all the time, but our favorite is dog day afternoon,” he said.
Fans gathered with their dogs before the start of the game in the grassy part of the stadium behind the right field wall, where water bowls and treat stations were set up along the outskirts of the field.
Enjoying the sun and meeting furry friends, Reno Aces General Manager Chris Phillips explained why adding Dog Day to the early part of the season is so important.
“You get to bring your best friend out to the ballpark and we've added the number of dog days that we had from last year, it was such a hit,” he said. “It's part of our goal to transform this whole outfield area, it's a perfect spot to be able to have your dogs out here and have a great day.”
For Aaron Mead, it was a last minute decision he didn’t regret.
“I like the fact that we get to gather with the dogs, it's just fun, it makes you smile,” he said. “I actually got the tickets last night, just because I was like it’d be interesting to hang out here and everyone’s super friendly. It’s just so fun, dogs are just entertaining and always happy and to be around a lot of dogs is just phenomenal.”
The team won the first Dog Day game 6-4, leaving all home fans in attendance extra happy with the experience, and believing their dog might have been the good luck charm the team needed.
Reporting, photos and audio feature by Daisy Gomez