'Bear,' a service dog in training, visits Pete Alonso at Mets spring training
New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso plays with Bear, a black Labrador retriever that Alonso and his foundation are sponsoring for special training to become a service dog for veterans, on Tuesday at Clover Field in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The special guest at Mets spring training on Tuesday: Bear, a 13-month-old black Labrador retriever from K9s For Warriors who is named after “Polar Bear” Pete Alonso.
Alonso and his charity, The Alonso Foundation, are sponsoring Bear’s special training to become a service dog for a veteran in need. K9s For Warriors provides highly trained service dogs to veterans suffering from mental health issues.
Bear seemed to thoroughly enjoy being on the field and in the dugout — and all the attention that came with it — during the Mets’ workout. He took a liking to Alonso’s blue and orange batting gloves, turning them into a chew toy. Alonso let him keep them.
New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo pets Bear. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
Bear is separate from but similar to Shea, a yellow Lab and a fellow service-dog-in-training sponsored by the Amazin' Mets Foundation in a partnership with America's Vet Dogs. Shea frequently appears at Citi Field and other Mets events.
Mets first baseman Pete Alonso plays with Bear, a black Labrador retriever in training to be a service dog for veterans, in the dugout at Clover Field on Tuesday. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
Bear, a black Labrador retriever in training to be a service dog for veterans, took a liking to Pete Alonso's batting gloves. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
