CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The sun beats down on Boshamer Stadium, not a cloud in sight in the Carolina blue sky. Music echoes throughout the concourse as the team lines up outside of the dugout. From afar, it looks like a normal spring day of University of North Carolina baseball—save for the golden tail peeking out of the Tar Heels’ lineup.
Meet Remington, the first athletic training room assistance dog for not just UNC but also the Atlantic Coast Conference. The golden retriever’s official position is as a psychiatric medical alert facility rehabilitation service dog, working alongside the baseball team’s head athletic trainer, Terri Jo Rucinski.
Remington was part of a litter at paws4people, Inc., a Wilmington, N.C., nonprofit that raises, trains and places assistance dogs with clients. According to the foundation, these dogs typically have one or more certificates to offer support in areas such as mobility, psychiatric service, rehabilitative assistance and therapeutic visitation.
