SAN FRANCISCO -- Hank the Dog, a stray who captured the Brewers’ hearts when he wandered into their Spring Training complex in 2014, died Thursday, the club confirmed.
His age was unknown, but he was a very good boy.
It was a stadium security guard who gave Hank his name -- after Hall of Famer Hank Aaron -- in February 2014, when the Bichon Frisé mix wandered into Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix with his white fur so stained that a veterinarian who examined him surmised that he’d been run over by a car. Hank’s life was about to get a lot more plush.
The Brewers distributed flyers around the neighborhood in an effort to find his owner, but Hank’s fame quickly outgrew that quaint effort. He made himself right at home in the clubhouse, dining on bacon from then-Brewers coach Ed Sedar and spending nights with a variety of coaches, players and staffers. As social media posts and stories began to circulate about the Brewers’ new unofficial mascot, he became a sensation, featured on the Today Show and Good Morning America and on the pages of People Magazine. Hank was 2015 Dog of the Year at the World Dog Awards, had a book written about him and moved to Milwaukee amid much fanfare, where he was adopted by the family of Brewers COO Marti Wronski.
While players sought to avoid the doghouse, Hank had one built for himself at Miller Park, where the Brewers sold merchandise with his image to benefit pet adoption charities. In 2016, when a faux-scandal emerged that Hank had been replaced by an imposter, he’d already helped raise more than $300,000 for charity, and that figure continued to grow.
“Hank was truly loved by our family, and we are so grateful for the 10 years we had with him," Wronski said. "Hank seemed to know that he was rescued by the entire Brewers family and he never met a fan -- or really any human -- he didn’t love. We are heartbroken to be without him but are grateful for the joy he brought to so many and the spotlight he helped shine on animal rescue.”
With that mission in mind, the Brewers and the Wronski family encourage donations to the Wisconsin Humane Society or MADACC (Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission) for those who wish to honor the life of Hank.