The New York Mets sponsor “Puppies with a Purpose” service dogs for veterans and first responders.
Hero photo: Shea (Photo courtesy of NY Mets and America’s VetDogs)
by Jen Reeder
Whenever Tom and Deb Rubing go to the grocery store, strangers stop to say, “Let’s go Mets!” It’s not because the New Yorkers are longtime fans of the Major League Baseball team – though they are – but because of the Lab who goes everywhere with them: Seaver.
The black Lab is the second “Puppy with a Purpose” sponsored by the team’s philanthropic arm, the Amazin’ Mets Foundation, to train to be a service dog for a veteran or first responder with PTSD and/or disabilities. The nonprofit America’s VetDogs relies on volunteer puppy raisers like the Rubings to socialize puppies to as many different people, places, and environments as possible starting at eight weeks old and until they’re 16 or 17 months old. Then the puppies return to America’s VetDogs for specialized training.
“We take them through high school and then send them to college to finish off their training,” Tom Rubing said. “The biggest thing we do is socialize them and get them used to being a calm, confident pup in all types of scenarios.”
Thanks to the Mets, Seaver and his predecessor, a yellow Lab named Shea, get unusual amounts of socialization by attending home games at Citi Field. Both dogs are beloved by fans – who voted on names for both dogs and named them after Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver and the team’s former ballpark, Shea Stadium – as well as the staff and players.
“Many times, we’re there typically about three hours before the game even starts for batting practice and whatnot to interact with the players,” he said. “So we don’t often stay past second or third inning.”
Though it’s a challenge to leave a game early for the die-hard Mets fan – “I was born and raised a few miles from the stadium and went as a young lad” – it’s worth it to help prepare the pups for work as service dogs for heroes.
After finishing training, Shea partnered with a retired NYPD officer and Ground Zero first responder, Richie Carter, in a touching ceremony before a Mets game on September 28, 2023. The Rubings found it incredibly heartwarming.
“The whole goal is to get the puppies trained to serve somebody who served us,” Deb Rubing said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s just something to look forward to every day.”
Jane Son, co-head of the Foundation and Community Engagement Department at the Mets, said sponsoring Shea and now Seaver has been a homerun for the team. The Mets were the first-ever MLB team to raise a future service dog.
“I didn’t realize how much the players would love the dogs as well,” she said. “They’ve just always been a crowd pleaser. Who doesn’t love a Lab?”
She was so moved when Shea partnered with Officer Carter that she was “glad someone packed the tissue box.” She hopes other professional sports teams will get involved with America’s VetDogs and cover the $50,000 it takes to place a service dog with a veteran. (The New York Islanders hockey team are currently sponsoring their fourth “Puppy with a Purpose”; Seaver enjoyed meeting up with future guide dog Monte at the ice rink last fall.)
“When you think about what you can do by sponsoring a Lab through America’s VetDogs, it’s really incredible,” Son said.
Volunteers like the Rubings and sponsors like the Amazin’ Mets Foundation help the nonprofit provide service dogs free of charge to their handlers, according to John Miller, president and CEO of America’s VetDogs and its sister organization, the Guide Dog Foundation, which provides free guide dogs for people who are blind or visually impaired.
“It’s been a terrific partnership – from the Cohen family, who are the team owners, to the front office staff, the players and most importantly, probably, the fans,” he said. “It’s really been a great relationship.”
The Mets “Puppies with a Purpose” helps raise awareness that service dogs can assist veterans in special ways. Each dog is custom trained for the lifestyle and needs of their future handler, so they learn skills like retrieving dropped objects, pushing buttons to open automatic doors, and interrupting nightmares and night terrors.
“A popular command is something we call the ‘rest’ command,” Miller said. “You say ‘rest’ and the dog will come up and put his head right on your lap and look at you right in the eyes. What that accomplishes is it gets you to reset your mindset and focus on the eyes of your service dog – whatever you may have been anxious or upset about, it works to alleviate that.”
America’s VetDogs and the Guide Dog Foundation primarily train Labs, golden retrievers, and crosses of the two breeds. He said Labs excel as service dogs because of their great temperaments, intelligence, and love of food (since their training is reward-based).
Miller hopes high-profile Labs like Seaver and Shea will motivate veterans and first responders to apply for service dogs while also inspiring people to donate or volunteer as puppy raisers. America’s VetDogs offers puppy-raising programs in all 50 U.S. states.
“We always need more puppy raisers and volunteers,” he said. “The demand for our services is strong, and the more puppy raisers that we have, the more dogs that can go to veterans and first responders. It’s a direct correlation, and you will help a veteran or first responder and their family put their lives potentially back together and on track.”
It’s an activity that’s not only rewarding but fun, according to Shea and Seaver’s puppy raisers, the Rubings. They’ve raised eight Labs for America’s VetDogs and the Guide Dog Foundation. Their own pet dogs, black Lab Sicily and yellow Lab mix Tribble – both retired breeding dogs for the nonprofits – also help by showing the puppies how to behave at home and enjoy cuddling with Seaver for naps.
The couple enjoys taking Seaver to Mets home games as well as handing out his baseball card while on walks or at fundraising events, or introducing the laid-back Lab to Boy Scout troops or Lions Clubs.
“It’s just as much fun for us as it is for the dogs,” Tom Rubing said.
His wife Deb wholeheartedly agrees.
“With everything going on in the world, I get to focus on something positive and rewarding every day,” she said. “Even going to the grocery store, you interact with people. It’s a very positive thing.”
Follow Seaver’s adventures on Instagram at: @MetsVetDog. For more information about America’s VetDogs, visit: VetDogs.org.
