Blue Wahoos New Ace 'Watson' Arrives With Plenty Of Love

The Blue Wahoos newest member arrived late Friday night ready to play.

That all-day, transcontinental flight from San Francisco to Pensacola?

Merely elementary for the Wahoos’ dear Watson, an 8-week-old, 18-inch, 15-pound, male black Labrador and Golden Retriever mix, now training to become a service companion dog and part of the Blue Wahoos experience for the 18 months or so.

Tail-wagging, tongue-lapping, happy to see people, the adorable, soft-fur pup emerged from its travel kennel off an American Airlines flight from the west coast – plus a connection in Charlotte – to be greeted by a waiting throng at Pensacola International Airport baggage claim.

“Isn’t he beautiful,” said Kathryn Daniel, former WEAR-3 TV weather personality and reporter, now part of Canine Companions for Independence professional trainers, who will be handling Watson’s progression from playful puppy into full-grown service dog.

Watson’s name was the landslide choice from Blue Wahoos fans who voted the name as connection with Bubba Watson, the PGA Tour star, Milton High grad and local resident who is a co-investor with the Blue Wahoos.

The dog immediately nestled comfortably into the furry arms of the Blue Wahoos’ mascot Kazoo during the airport debut.

“I can’t wait to share him with Pensacola,” said Daniel, who will care for the dog at her home during the training process. “I’m very excited about the community being able to meet Watson and put their hands on him. And the interaction of people naming him in a contest was wonderful.

“The puppy stage goes fast,” Daniel said. “We will have him about 18 months and we will teach him 30 commands. Those are basic commands he will need. Then he will go to puppy college, our Southeastern campus in Orlando.

“He will spend six to nine months there in fine-tuning his skills and then he will be placed with a person (in Pensacola) with special needs.”

Daniel spent the past two years training her first service dog, “Chappie.” The dog was named by WEAR-TV viewers in honor of Pensacola native, Daniel “Chappie” James Jr., a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force, who became the first African-American to reach rank of four-star general in the U.S. Armed Forc.

The dog became a celebrity from frequent appearances on WEAR TV newscasts and Daniel’s weather reports. Chappie was also a positive element for viewers during the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We did 23 stories and about a million appearances on the weather,” Daniel said, laughing.

The tough part for her was saying goodbye in February when the black Labrador left for its own advanced training in Orlando.

“It was excruciating, more than anyone can imagine,” she said. “I miss him so much. It really helped knowing Watson was coming.”

Daniel broached the idea with Donna Kirby, the Blue Wahoos vice president of operations and long-time friend. Kirby, an avid dog lover, immediately took the proposal and gained quick approval from team president Jonathan Griffith.

“We had always talked about getting a bat dog,” Kirby said. “It was one of those things where we said, ‘Oh that would be fun.’ But we never did. This will truly be our first puppy that we will help raise.

“When the idea was presented, it just made so much sense. Just because of everything that everyone has been through and now having a brand, new puppy. It’s a good thing to do and brings the community together.

I think it will be a community unifier.”

The pup will start out with brief appearances at games to get acclimated with surroundings. The next phase will be for it to meet Blue Wahoos players and fans and even take in post-game fireworks after games.

Watson will also be roaming in the Blue Wahoos front office, even attending meetings, which is designed to get the pup acclimated to various interactions with people. Daniel said other professional sports teams like the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Penguins have a similar arrangement in helping raise service dogs.

“It will be like a dream come true,” Kirby said.

Even though it was in dog-toddler stage Friday, Watson seemed to handle the eight-hour, two-flight journey in the cargo section of the planes just fine.

American Airlines personnel made sure the puppy had food, water and was as comfortable as possible on its cross-country flight and brief layover in Charlotte.

After Daniel met the dog in a special area and gave it a quick bath, it was happily greeting strangers and interacting will full-grown service dogs.

Lewis Garvin, the Pensacola airport’s marketing manager, made arrangements for the service dogs, handlers, children, Blue Wahoos staffers and others to gather in the baggage area to greet Watson.

“Whenever a new puppy arrives like this, we always have fully trained service dogs to interact with,” Daniel said. “We have a huge canine service community in Pensacola with four or five seasoned puppy raisers.

“One person has raised 11 service dogs. Another lady has raised nine. It’s amazing. So they have mentored me through the whole thing.”

Daniel decided to become a trainer after doing a feature story years ago for WEAR-TV on a local woman with a dog from Canine Companions for Independence, the nation’s oldest and largest service dog organization, based in northern California.

The non-profit organization has placed more than 6,000 service dogs, free of charge, to people with special needs across the nation.

“As my kids got older, I said it’s time to do it,” Daniel said. “So I applied for it and I went to managers at Channel 3 and said I would like to raise the puppy here on the air and weather center and it was an instant yes.”

Unfortunately, when viewers emailed Daniel about the possibility of meeting “Chappie” she had to decline due to station visitor restrictions and other concerns during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. While training Watson, the dog will be able to meet the public.

“I would get messages every day about Chappie. And I understood, but I couldn’t do it,” she said. “I wanted to do it (train Watson) with (Blue Wahoos), because then people can meet him.

“We’ll do it slowly. He won’t be fully vaccinated until later summer, but eventually we can do a meet-and-greet with fans.”