April 16, 2019

I was going to say Old Yeller.



So Christian Yelich gave them their puppy before last night's game... then went on to hit 3 home runs.

And, for those of you who worry about treating dogs right and bringing up children correctly, the giving of the dog surprised the kids but was coordinated with the parents and the dog's breeder.

ADDED: My idea for the dog's name was influenced by the misspelling of Yelich's name that is imprinted on my brain. I hear the word "yell" and think there are 2 Ls. But the name has nothing to do with yelling: "Yelich is an Americanized spelling of the Croatian and Serbian surname, Jelić." I can't find a meaning for Jelić, but I trust it's not about yelling.

My ability to spell has always been hampered by my desire for meaning. In 8th grade, I lost a spelling bee because I wanted to see the ostrich in "ostracize." Also, double letters — they're the bane of spelling.

Anyway... I originally misspelled "Yelich" and only noticed because I looked at the photograph of the kids and thought they'd misspelled it. I've corrected my mistake.

45 comments:

Curious George said...

Breeder? Should have got them a shelter dog.

MayBee said...

Wow! And then he went on to hit 3 home runs that night!

MayBee said...

Surprising our little sons with a puppy was one of the best days.

mccullough said...

Naming the dog Christian would have been blasphemous.

Fernandinande said...

The parents of the Milwaukee Brewers? Christian Yellich = ?

So many questions.

I've been thinking of renaming our two dogs to "Jack" and "Al" so they can both be called by crying out "Jackal!", which is what one of them acts like most of the time.

Bob Boyd said...

What kind of dog is it?

mockturtle said...

Win-win!

Bob Boyd said...

Okay, I found this:

Labodda said they specifically chose the Goldendoodle breed because Lola has Type 1 diabetes. They are going to try to get the dog into training to be her service animal.

"This breeder that we were working with says this dog can be trained to help my daughter survive," Labotta said.

Bob Boyd said...

Homer would have been a good name too.

AllenS said...

He also got seven RBIs last night.

mccullough said...

Three homers in a game is impressive for such a terrific player. The Cardinals pitching coach needs to sit down with those pitchers and explain to them that it is much better to walk Yelich than to pitch to him.

Fernandinande said...

Moast Inglish werds ar spelled rong.

MadisonMan said...

Great story! Especially the 3-homerun coda.

Ann Althouse said...

"Labodda said they specifically chose the Goldendoodle breed because Lola has Type 1 diabetes. They are going to try to get the dog into training to be her service animal."

I wondered what the dog would do to help with diabetes, and I see:

Diabetic Alert Dogs — affectionately known as DADs — are service dogs that are trained specifically to assist diabetics.

Their primary task as service dogs is to alert diabetics of an oncoming hypoglycemic or hyperglycemic event (low or high blood sugar!)

DADs are able to do this by reacting to particular smells that are emitted from the human body due to chemical shifts caused by either hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia (undetected by a human nose).

There are various ways that the dog can alert their human of a low or high blood sugar, which all depends on how it is trained. These skills require rigorous training from professional service dog trainers.

In addition to being on alert for blood sugar malfunctions, Diabetic Alert Dogs are known to provide a tremendous amount of love and emotional support to its owner, resulting in an increased sense of security and balance in the daily life of someone with Type 1.


https://beyondtype1.org/diabetic-alert-dogs-dads/

Fernandinande said...

A Plan for the Improvement of English Spelling

Bob Boyd said...

Lassie was an early service dog trained to help children with a propensity to fall down wells survive.

robother said...

"Jelly" might be more true to the original Croation.

reader said...

The last two times we have gotten a dog we have gone to the different Humane Societies in our area. Each time the majority of the dogs were bull dog mixes. I am only a so so trainer and I don't consider myself equipped to deal with training a bull dog. We have had three Pitbull attacks in my neighborhood in the last year and a half. I swear the Humane Society is shipping them into Southern California from out of state.

My father-in-law adopts from a lab rescue and my mother has adopted from a Siamese rescue. Those groups were both quite zealous (and condescending!) in their review of potential owners.

stevew said...

So far this season Meade has been correct about mister Yelich. I, on the other hand, have so far been exposed as a Red Sox and Mookie Betts fan boy/homer. There's still time but this kid Yelich sure seems to be the real deal.

Ann Althouse said...

We definitely have the most lovable player.

Quaestor said...

And what happens if Yelich just gets a base hit or flies out to center field, take him out back and shoot him?

Quaestor said...

Players are known to be problematic when their batting averages dip. Some just sulk and growl when kids try to pet them. Others froth at the mouth and savage anything that moves. If you're bitten you're almost certain to contract rounders, in which case there's no hope.

readering said...

Kids, pup and slugger all out of central casting.

Rob said...

Baseball PR Department gold. Nicely done.

Meade said...

"And what happens if Yelich just gets a base hit or flies out to center field, take him out back and shoot him?"

LOL.

Homer, or we kill this dog. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheeseface

Bob Boyd said...

In early 1976, an unidentified assailant tracked down Cheeseface to the farm where he lived and killed him due to his publicity. As of 2019, the identity and motivation of the assailant remain unknown,[4][5], although the owners of Cheeseface named a specific individual in a law suit in 1976

Holy crap! I remember the magazine cover, but I didn't know that. That is horrible.

Bob Boyd said...

Apparently the Mr. Cheeseface murder was part of spree of dog shootings. It all went down in Vermont in the 70's. If Bernie wins, maybe we can finally get to the bottom of this shocking business and get justice for Mr. Cheeseface and the other victims.

Who shot Mr. Cheeseface?

Meade said...

Sorry, Bob. I should've given you a trigger warning. That'll teach me to read the whole thing before linking.

Good thing that family didn't name the puppy "Cheeseface."

JaimeRoberto said...

My wife is Slovak, and her language is similar enough to Croatian that when we vacation in Croatia we can carry on a conversation with the locals in their native language. Anyway, I've heard my wife call someone a jelita. I'm not sure what it means, but judging by the tone of her voice it wasn't a compliment.

Ann Althouse said...

I think it's 100% legitimate to want to choose a breed of dog with the qualities you want and to find a reputable breeder to do business with.

It's a shame that dogs are produced in other ways and then abandoned by people who don't like what they got, but I don't see how the enthusiastic adoption of these dogs helps decrease the supply.

The most important consideration is the welfare of human children. Why take a chance on an abandoned dog? Get a new puppy, the selected breed for your needs, and train it scrupulously. I can't believe people feel guilty about doing that.

Bob Boyd said...

#Never forget!

#Justice for Cheeseface!

Bob Boyd said...

I think it's 100% legitimate to want to choose a breed of dog with the qualities you want and to find a reputable breeder to do business with.

I agree.

However, I don't think most dogs that end up in shelters are the cast off products of failed breeding experiments. They're the results of dogs taking things into their own hands, so to speak. Dogs are big practitioners of free love. "Why don't we do it in the road?" is their attitude, by and large.

I have no objection to purebreds, get what you want and need, but I have adopted two pups from the local dog pound over the years and both have been fantastic companion animals, smart, highly trainable, great dispositions. I don't think that makes me some how virtuous. Cheap maybe.
If you get them young and raise them right they will be fine. If you're considering an older shelter dog, they may have developed behaviors you won't like, so you need to observe and interact with them enough to get an idea of their personality. If they bite you at the shelter, that's a red flag.

Curious George said...

"but I don't see how the enthusiastic adoption of these dogs helps decrease the supply."

That's because math is hard.

Yancey Ward said...

What if it were a four base error?

daskol said...

robother said...
"Jelly" might be more true to the original Croation.


Hunky.

gilbar said...

Ann Althouse said... We definitely have the most lovable player.

As a 3rd Generation Cubs fan, i want to look down my (cubby blue) nose at all things Brewer...
But this player seems to have a lot of class;
so much so, that he'd look good in blue pinstripes.

Anonymous said...


Blogger Yancey Ward said...
What if it were a four base error?

Referencing the other thread: “Come here, fuctup!”

mccullough said...

Yelich is a very likeable player. Good for the game. Lot of solid fan-friendly players in the game these days. Baseball is doing well with these young men.

gilbar said...

Baseball represents EVERYTHING that's good and proper and right about the American Way.
That's why they play it All Over the World (unlike american rugby or soccer or what Ever that is).

gilbar said...

George Explains it All

Curious George said...

" Baseball is doing well with these young men."

Not really. Young boys (and girls) are not watching baseball. Too long. Too boring. The viewer numbers are not good for the future.

Curious George said...

"The most important consideration is the welfare of human children. Why take a chance on an abandoned dog? Get a new puppy, the selected breed for your needs, and train it scrupulously. I can't believe people feel guilty about doing that."

This is sad....and elitist. Dogs are dogs, all are teachable, and workers in shelters are very honest about the nature of the dogs they have. They want a good match because they work for peanuts (or free) because they care. They will not match you up with a poor choice.

AllenS said...

When I watch Yelich run the bases, I see someone who was a good 440 track star. Pick 'em up and put 'em down.

gadfly said...

"I was going to say Old Yeller" contains Ann's comment: My idea for the dog's name was influenced by the misspelling of Yelich's name that is imprinted on my brain. I hear the word "yell" and think there are 2 Ls. But the name has nothing to do with yelling . . .

Yeah, but Old Yeller has nothing to do with yelling either! So maybe a better name is Yebut - since the pup is tan not yellow.

Nichevo said...

Did you misspell the work "in"

Word, perhaps?

Instant karma's gonna get you