One of the things we strive for here in athletics is integration into campus life. We love being part of the Lewis & Clark community.
Newfoundlands are just awesome creatures!
That was very visible on the first Friday of classes, September 5, at the annual Pio Fair. The coordinators of Pio Fair wanted to embrace the new Pioneer athletics logo and use it as the central theme for this year’s campus-wide mixer and social gathering. Not only did signage for the event feature Pio the Dog, there were seven real-life Newfoundlands at the event mixing with the students. Needless to say, the L&C community went nuts over the dogs. What’s there not to love? These beasts are massive, friendly, loyal, exceptionally well-behaved, and just have a quiet dignity that you have to embrace. The most-popular of the dogs, without a doubt, was the little black and white Newfie puppy. The students wore that dog out playing with him.
I made friends with a Newfie named Remington. Remington has agreed, in theory, to help us out a few times until we can secure a real-life Pio of our very own. Dog ownership is not something to be taken lightly, and figuring out the proper way to obtain a dog and care for a dog are not decisions we are going to jump to here in the department. The new logo is something that is going to be the mark of this department for quite some time. We are very pleased with its fit with the Department’s philosophy, so we don’t need to rush into making hasty decisions regarding a live dog. Time is a luxury that we have and we are going to use it.
But trust me, it is very clear that the Pioneer family really wants a dog!
CLICK HERE to see other pics from the event, including the puppy.
-Clark Yeager
