BOYDS, Md. — This is the story of a good dog.
Meet Boyd. You might call him the spirit behind the Washington Spirit, who train and compete at the Maryland SoccerPlex in, naturally, Boyds, Maryland. Technically, Boyd鈥檚 job is to chase the geese and other animals off the array of playing fields at the SoccerPlex, helping to keep them pristine. But the longer Boyd鈥檚 been a part of the SoccerPlex, the more he鈥檚 become a favorite of the fans and the players.
鈥淚 know Boyd does a lot of work with keeping the geese out of the way and everything 鈥� that鈥檚 kind of his purpose,鈥� said Spirit midfielder Tori Huster. 鈥淏ut he鈥檚 also, like, our little best friend.鈥�
Huster, 26, has been with the Spirit all four years of their existence, since being selected in the 2013 NWSL Supplemental Draft and is now in her fourth season with the team. She鈥檚 seen Boyd grow over the past three years and has known him since he originally came to the SoccerPlex as a puppy.
鈥淗e鈥檚 such a happy dog, it just makes you happy when you see him,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l be on the game field and he鈥檒l be out there before the game even. You鈥檝e got to get a good luck pat.鈥�
Fittingly born on Valentine鈥檚 Day 2014, Boyd isn鈥檛 just around at practice either. He鈥檚 a fixture at Spirit home games. And he鈥檚 become something of an unofficial mascot for the team, complete with season-long sideline pass.
Happy to our favorite SoccerPlex pup ! 🐶
鈥� Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit)
鈥淔ans even know him, he鈥檚 become famous. They look forward to seeing him,鈥� said defender Caprice Dydasco, 22, who is in her second season with the Spirit after being selected 19th overall out of UCLA last year.
鈥淭his is our second home, pretty much. It鈥檚 just comforting to see him, it makes it homey having a dog here.鈥�
That鈥檚 true even for visitors. In his first year, when he was still a puppy, Boyd crashed the Seattle Reign鈥檚 walk-through as the visiting team prepared for a game. Everything stopped for 10 minutes as players and coaches alike put their warmups on pause to hang out and play with him.
And just last week, the championships for the Elite Clubs National League, a top female youth soccer program, took place at the SoccerPlex. After one of the teams had lost in the finals, a parent approached Boyd and Ryan, who were breaking down the fields, with a request.
鈥淐an I take him to our team? We just lost the final, I think it would be a huge morale booster.”
There鈥檚 clearly something to that 鈥� the comfort that a dog can bring. The Washington Nationals have Olive, a comfort dog, available to fans. But to find one so closely associated with a team is almost unheard of.
鈥淭hat would be news to me, if there was another club that had one,鈥� Huster said.
鈥淣ot a famous dog like ours,鈥� Dydasco added.
Boyd is an Australian shepherd/border collie mix with a cookies and cream complexion, alert, oversized ears and a white underbelly. He鈥檚 tall but skinny, almost like a whippet or greyhound. His hair is short now, but only because it was recently trimmed, to keep his naturally thick coat from overwhelming him in the Washington heat.
鈥淗e gets a summer cut, cools him off,鈥� said Ryan Bjorn, director of grounds and environmental innovations at the SoccerPlex, and Boyd鈥檚 caretaker. 鈥淭he poof on the tail was not my decision.鈥�
Boyd was preceded at the Maryland SoccerPlex by Dave, a purebred border collie. And while Dave performed his goose-chasing duties admirably, he wasn鈥檛 too people-friendly.
鈥淗e was very good at his job, but he wasn鈥檛 very personable,鈥� Bjorn said. 鈥淗e was a work dog, a true work dog.鈥�
The work part was what most concerned Bjorn when he first adopted Boyd.
鈥淗is second week here, we saw some geese and he ran down, ran at the geese, the geese flapped their wings and he just bolted backwards 鈥� he was terrified of the geese,鈥� Bjorn said. 鈥淪o I was a little worried, cause I thought we might have made a mistake. And then, a couple weeks later, he鈥檇 grown up a little bit, seen a couple geese, just chased them off the field.鈥�
Now, Bjorn says, Boyd is so dogged about his duties that he鈥檒l track the birds from field to field and won鈥檛 let them be until they鈥檙e entirely off the property.
Why does have a dog on our staff?? Find out why here.
— MD SoccerPlex (@MDSoccerPlex)
鈥淗e鈥檚 always alert, always paying attention to what鈥檚 going on around him,鈥� Bjorn said. 鈥淏ut the great thing about it is, he鈥檚 got a very nice on-off switch 鈥� when he鈥檚 on and he鈥檚 working, you can鈥檛 get him out of it, but as soon as we get back to the shop and he gets up on the couch, complete relaxation. So we鈥檙e very lucky.鈥�
That鈥檚 not to say he鈥檚 always on his best behavior. One time, when Bjorn was on a trip and his girlfriend was at class, she left Boyd in the bedroom. When she returned, he had escaped, after chewing a hole through the door, and she found him sitting in the kitchen sink, howling. Some time later, the two would discover that wasn鈥檛 the only thing they鈥檇 missed while they were gone.
鈥淗e didn鈥檛 eat anything, didn鈥檛 get into the trash or anything like that, but a couple weeks later we were digging through the couch for something and pulled out a tortilla,鈥� Bjorn said. 鈥淚t turns out he had taken some out of the package and hidden them strategically throughout the house.鈥�
But by and large, Boyd provides for Bjorn the same thing he does for everyone else, that sense of carefree happiness that only a dog brings you.
鈥淓ven if I have a long day or I鈥檓 stressed out, I can just sit down with him for a couple minutes and be good to go,鈥� he said.
That鈥檚 the kind of mascot every team could use.
Wednesday's. Am I right?
— Boyd SoccerPlex (@Boyd_McGrass)
