Related Content
•
CoSIDA.com/CoSIDA360 Magazine Archive
Note: This story appeared in the Spring 2020 May edition of CoSIDA 360 Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.
Click here to view the Pets of CoSIDA photo gallery.
Pets of CoSIDA
Our furry friends provide unconditional love, comfort and joy.
by Eric Rhew – UNCW, Assistant Athletic Communications Director
With energetic bursts, they greet us at the front door when we come home after a weekend-long road trip with one of our teams. Whether it’s a cat purring and rubbing up against your legs or a dog excitedly wagging its tail, they provide comfort when we’ve had a long day at the office.
They’re curled up on the couch by our side while we write postgame recaps at home when we have teams playing on the road at night or on a weekend.
They’re our pets and, for many CoSIDA members who are working from home, they’re an important member of the family, providing more than just the usual unconditional love. They travel with us, provide comfort during stressful moments and keep a smile on our faces.
I’ve been working in the athletic communications field since my freshman year at Towson in 2000. Until I met my wife Erin — and her cat Evie — at the end of 2010, I didn’t have a good idea of what the feeling of having a pet greet you at the door felt like.
In fact, it was because of a CoSIDA convention in 2011 that I found out what that feeling was like. I returned from Marco Island and went to my wife’s apartment (we were only dating at the time) when Evie greeted me at the door. That was just the start.
Eric Rhew with his dog Piper and wife Erin.
When I sat down on the couch, Evie jumped up on my lap, sprawled out, started purring and went to sleep. I think it was her way of saying, “Welcome home and I hope you never leave me again.”
To put this into context, Evie was a very selective cat when it came to which humans she liked. If you need any proof, just ask my father-in-law who will be happy to share his expertise with Evie.
Evie and I created such a bond that I was forbidden from mentioning her during my wedding vows when my wife and I married in June 2014. To be fair, my wife did include Evie as part of our cake topper and gave me a pair of cat socks to wear on our wedding day.
Evie and I continued to be best friends until we had to say goodbye to her in November 2015. Thankfully, we had someone else to fill the void — our beagle mix, Piper.
Just four months before Evie’s passing, my wife and I went to PetSmart to get some cat food. While we got that cat food, we went home with a lot more as we adopted Piper that very day and took her home. If you think Evie didn’t like humans, try bringing another animal home. It was a very interesting time with the two of them together.
Piper has provided us with so much love and enjoyment over the last five years, and especially now with the COVID-19 pandemic going on. Now that I am working from home, Piper and I have a routine of going for a walk in the morning and another one in the afternoon. It’s just our time to hang out.
In addition, Piper gets even more belly rubs and snuggles than normal. My wife and I say on a daily basis we don’t know what we’d do without Piper and we never want to imagine a day without her.
I’m not the only one whose pet has provided comfort during this pandemic. Here are some other stories about how people in athletic communications met their furry friends and how they have helped them during this time.
The Bear Necessities
There can be a lot of late surprises when it comes to travel, but for Charleston Southern assistant director of athletic communications Hannah Allison, she got a surprise the night before the 2018 CoSIDA Convention that has become her sidekick.
Just a month before the annual event, Allison’s seven-year-old dog passed away from cancer.
“She was everything to me, so losing her felt like I lost a part of me,” Allison said.
But, that didn’t stop her mom from trying to fill the void. The night before the CoSIDA Convention was slated to begin in Washington, D.C., Allison and her mom drove to Catawba, North Carolina, where they would meet Bear, a golden retriever. And the rest, as they say, is history.
So, with the convention set for the next day, how was Allison going to handle this new addition to her life? There was only one option — bring Bear with her.
Hannah Allison’s dog, Bear, has been known to visit with Charleston Southern’s softball team during practices and games.
Instead of flying to the convention, she hopped in the car with Bear and drove to the convention where he would meet several colleagues and strangers that weekend. Bear got to see the sights of our nation’s capital during the trip and enjoyed his first human food experience with some frozen yogurt and apple slices from the Chart House in old town Alexandria.
While Allison was getting some professional development work done at the convention, Bear went through some development of his own with some puppy training along with spending time with some of his new owner’s family members.
In fact, it’s become a family tradition. Bear also attended the 2019 CoSIDA Convention in Orlando and was slated to make the journey with his human friend to Las Vegas for this year’s event.
Bear has become Allison’s travel buddy — where she goes, he goes. He traveled with her to UNCW for Charleston Southern’s volleyball tournament last fall and travels with her whenever she does.
Bear has been known to make an appearance in videos or the softball press box for games. He is always ready to go to the office and visit with Allison’s co-workers and student-athletes.
The love Allison has for her furry friend has certainly been important during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has helped her get through the tough times.
“Every day has become about him and spending as much time as possible together,” Allison said. “On the bad days, he’s a simple reminder of bliss innocence, which allows me to smile at how happy he is that I’m always around.”
For Love of the Game
Considering her family lives just a few hours away from Pittsburgh, it should come as no surprise that Caitie Smith joined her family in being a big Pittsburgh Pirates fan.
But, for Smith, the assistant director of athletic communications at Ole Miss, that love has extended to her family’s four dogs. All four of them, who are all of mixed breeds, have either a middle name or a nickname related to the Pirates.
“As diehard Pirates fans, our passion has inadvertently carried into our animals,” Smith said.
Sarge, one of the Smith family’s shelter rescue dogs, has the middle name of McCutchen in honor of former Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen. Another one of the family’s shelter rescue dogs, AJ, is named after former Pittsburgh pitcher AJ Burnett despite being a female dog.
The Smith family has also given AJ a nickname of AJHay after former Pirate Josh Harrison gained the nickname “JHay.”
Ranger, a golden retriever and catahoula mix, earned his name in honor of former Pirate Sean Rodriguez.
Catie Smith's dogs AJ, Ranger, Wilson and Sarge.
The Smith family’s fourth dog, Wilson, is lucky to be named in honor of two former Pittsburgh players. They didn’t have to change his name since he was already named Wilson when they rescued him, but that was fine with them since they could recognize former Pirate shortstop Jack Wilson.
However, the family was able to extend their love for the Pirates when they began calling him Willie, a nod to the late Willie Stargell.
And the Smiths’ love of baseball has gravitated to the dogs.
“Our dogs will literally sit and watch baseball with us,” said Smith. “When I drive by a field with Ranger, he freaks out trying to jump out of the car to go there.
“During the Pirates’ incredible Wild Card run in 2013, my brother and I taught Sarge how to fist bump with us and every time the Pirates won, the three of us fist bump and say ‘Believe,’ which was one of the team’s slogans that year. In fact, Sarge will fist bump you to this day.”
Ranger lives in Mississippi with Smith and was involved in a promotion for the Ole Miss softball team when his paw was used to replicate the infamous “Beast” paw from the movie “The Sandlot.” He was also a frequent visitor to the dog-friendly baseball and field hockey fields when Smith worked at Davidson.
Being home in West Virginia has allowed Smith to enjoy quality time with her family and her dogs, which has added comfort during this difficult time.
“It has been incredibly comforting to have all of the animals around all day,” Smith said. “They bring laughter and entertainment as you can probably imagine with four of them in one household.
“I know they have loved having us home all day so they don’t have to spend time put away like they usually do. They are not going to know what to do when life returns to normal and their humans aren’t home 24/7.”
Catie Smith's dog, Ranger, was included in an Ole Miss softball game promotion.
It’s Not in the Playbook, Coach
If you were to ask any football coach to see their playbook, there is a really good chance you don’t see a play designed for getting your SID to adopt a cat.
But, ask Memphis assistant athletic director Tammy DeGroff about it and she could probably draw it up for you.
After having to say goodbye to her older cat, Cooper, because of cancer in February 2018, DeGroff accompanied several of the Memphis football team’s players and head coach Ryan Silverfield — who had been serving as the team’s offensive line coach at the time — on a volunteer trip to the Memphis Animal Shelter just a few short months later.
The shelter was holding an adoption special where people could adopt cats for $20. DeGroff had one other cat, Puff, in her house, but she was not doing well without having a feline friend with her, which surprised DeGroff.
While DeGroff thought she might be adopting another cat that day, it wasn’t guaranteed until she walked by Selena’s cage in the kitten room. She found a domestic shorthair cat had been playing with another kitten when DeGroff walked by the first time, but later, she found the cat by herself as the other kitten was adopted.
DeGroff stopped and walked over to the kennel door. She reached in and had an instant connection to the cat. The decision was made as Puff was about to have a new friend joining her at home.
With the adoption sheet in hand, DeGroff went to the checkout window. Coach Silverfield came over to check on his SID as he needed to leave for a recruiting event. After DeGroff assured the coach she was fine and announced her intentions, he paid the cashier for the adoption and left.
As for a name for DeGroff’s new friend? Leave it to the players who were volunteering to help with that. A group of them were bottle-feeding some of the younger kittens and after they were told some of the kittens were not named, they took matters into their own hands.
When DeGroff gathered her new addition to take home, she had a name on her tag, Selena Gomez, so it stuck.
After being adopted with the help of Memphis football coach Ryan Silverfield, Selena has made herself right at home with assistant athletic director Tammy DeGroff.
“Someone was clearly a fan,” DeGroff joked.
While Selena is still in touch with her inner kitten, it has given DeGroff a way to keep from getting locked into work all day during the current pandemic. It has also helped with setting DeGroff’s daily schedule.
“Selena is still very much on the same schedule, so there is no such thing as sleeping in and just not getting moving to start the day,” she said.
It’s becoming a habit for DeGroff to adopt a pet as the result of a work commitment. A few years ago, she adopted her dog, Zoe, after the Humane Society brought pets to a Memphis women’s basketball game.
DeGroff is giving new meaning to the phrase “bringing your work home,” but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Cooper the Champ
Talk about an exciting 2017-18 athletics year for Chris Brooks, the associate director of athletic communications at James Madison.
In June 2017, Brooks adopted Cooper, a mixed breed of collie, Labrador and pitbull. Just a few months later, the James Madison football team, which Brooks serves as the primary communications contact for, went 14-1 and reached the NCAA Division I Football Championship game. Brooks capped off the year by spearheading the publicity efforts for James Madison’s national champion women’s lacrosse team.
But, it didn’t take long thereafter for the two worlds to collide. After winning the national title in Long Island with a thrilling victory over Boston College on the eve of Memorial Day, the Dukes returned to Harrisonburg late that evening. Somehow, Brooks ended up taking the national championship trophy home to his house, where he placed it on his kitchen table.
Brooks was slated to return the trophy to the team the next morning for one final team meeting, but before he took it back, he decided to take advantage of a special photo opportunity.
So, he got Cooper to sit next to the trophy and snapped a photo.
Chris Brooks’ dog, Cooper, poses next to the 2018 NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse championship trophy after James Madison edged Boston College to win the title.
“How many SIDs have the national championship trophy in their house the day after winning it and get the chance to have their dog pose for a picture with it?,” Brooks said. “Fortunately, Cooper didn’t think it was a toy, so there were no chew marks on it. I got to keep my job!”
Football game days can be very long and for Brooks, he was worried about Cooper being in a crate for nearly half the day. When his dog sitter (who happened to foster Cooper before Brooks adopted him) was unavailable, he turned to one of his student workers to help out after the game ended.
The student worker gladly accepted, but several weeks later, Brooks found out all of his student workers from the football game went over to play with Cooper. It certainly was a team effort on that day and according to Brooks, Cooper loved every minute of it.
The COVID-19 pandemic has allowed Brooks to spend more time than usual with his dog, and Cooper has been sure to take advantage.
“It’s quiet being at home by myself and not seeing my teams or co-workers, but Cooper sits right next to me while I work from my living room with a paw always on me,” Brooks said. “He even tries to sneak into virtual meetings if he can.
“Cooper loves me being home every day. He gets multiple walks and all the attention. So, if you ask me, I say he’s benefiting more than I and that’s cool with me.”
Want to add something to this topic? Add your thoughts on the
CoSIDA Connect Open Member Forum.