ST PAUL, Minn. — Just one day after the Minnesota Wild announced their rescue dog Hobey graduated from their Adopt-A-Dog program and met his future forever family, the team announced they have a new four-legged "paw-spect."
Celly, a 5-month-old shepherd/Catahoula/Labrador mix, is the third dog to join the Wild from Twin Cities-based Coco's Heart Dog Rescue.
"We're excited to extend our Adopt-A-Dog program into its third season and help another rescue dog become a service dog," said Wild director of community relations and hockey partnerships Wayne Petersen.
As part of the program, Celly will be fostered by Leah Pitzenberger, the Minnesota Wild's Vice President of People Strategy and Experience, along with her husband Jeff. After learning basic obedience training, next summer Celly will undergo four to six months of service training before being placed with a veteran through Solider's 6, a nonprofit that provides specially trained canines to honorably discharged veterans, police officers and firefighters with PTSD at no cost to them.
Celly plans to regularly visit the Wild offices drop in on practices at TRI Rink at Treasure Island Center, but fans will have the chance to meet Celly at most home games during the upcoming season and at other appearances throughout the year.
According to Celly's prospect profile, he was born in Somerset, Wisconsin in February, loves to play catch, and his favorite thing to play with is his Nordy toy.
The first dog rescued by the Wild was Breezer during the 2019-2020 season, followed by Hobey for the most recent 2020-2021 season.
