WASHINGTON — One of the loudest guests inside Capital One Arena on Sunday night had stubby legs, prominent ears and a long snout.
And for whatever reason, the sight — or, more likely, the sound — of Washington Wizards rookie Alex Sarr sinking a 3-pointer brought out that dog in him.
His human parents call him Comet, and he’s a 4-year-old Cardigan Welsh corgi who watched the game from the stands.
As Sarr’s shot sailed through the hoop midway through the first quarter, the arena loudspeakers echoed with the sound of public-address announcer Mark Fratto bellowing, “D.C. 3! Sarr from Brogdon!”
Right on cue, Comet, in Section 428, high above the court, barked. And barked. And barked again. Comet’s woofing prompted his 6-year-old Pembroke Welsh corgi “brother,” Rocket, to bark, too. “They’re getting pretty vocal, aren’t they?” their human dad, Brandon Sanders, said with a smile.
That sequence was a scene from one of the more unusual promotions within an NBA arena this season: the Wizards’ first Hoops & Hounds night. If you need further proof that Americans go gaga for their dogs, then the evening should serve as Exhibit One. At prices of $50 for each human ticket and $10 for each dog, fans were invited to bring their pups and watch the game from seats in a corner of the upper deck. Team officials said they hosted nearly 140 dogs, selling out the dog ticket allotment. A portion of the proceeds will go to a local nonprofit called the Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation.
The canines ranged in size from a 5-pound Chihuahua to a 100-pound, well-behaved Rottweiler from Oxon Hill, Md., named Nalah. “She’s super smart, just a sweetheart of a dog, and when we heard about this, we had to come, because we want to take our dog everywhere,” said Nalah’s owner, Hilton George. “She’s part of the family.”
Many Major League Baseball teams, including the Washington Nationals, have hosted “Pups in the Park” promotions. Given the obvious potty-break challenges in an arena, such events have been rarer for indoor sports like the NBA, though G League teams like the Memphis Hustle have pulled it off.
For the Wizards, it was also smart business. The franchise, which now owns a league-worst 6-27 record and entered Sunday 25th out of 30 teams in average home attendance at 16,836 fans per game, had nothing to lose, especially on a day when it was competing against the final week of the NFL regular season on TV.
“We know we’ve got fans that have dogs and love them,” Wizards’ senior vice president of marketing Rebecca Winn said. “But we were really also going after people that haven’t been to a Wizards game and give them a reason to come. Then, once they’re here, we want them to see how awesome an experience it is overall and, obviously, come back.”
What gathering of dogs these days would be complete without doodles? (Courtesy of the Washington Wizards)
Winn no doubt would have loved to hear the story of Gary Shackleford, who brought his 2-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier, Dewey, to the game. Together, they sat in Section 428’s second row, overlooking the New Orleans Pelicans bench from several stories up. Shackleford hadn’t been to a Wizards game since he was a kid, but he often takes 80-pound Dewey to sporting events when dogs are permitted. “This was like the perfect event for me,” Shackleford said.
Dewey, calm despite the arena loudspeakers blaring sound effects and the crowd’s cheering, rested his chin next to Shackleford.
Whether the dogs would behave — or leave a mess — was a concern for Wizards officials, who planned the event thoroughly. To give the canines and their owners space from other dogs, the team made certain to leave some seats unavailable for purchase. The team also hired a company to clean up if any dogs had a potty-training accident.
Dogs and their owners could enter the arena through only one entrance and use one stairwell to reach the upper concourse. At the top of those stairs, team officials devoted an entire lounge to the dogs, including a pet relief station equipped with artificial grass. The lounge also featured a photo station where owners could have pictures taken with their pets.
A local group called the Capital Corgi Club caught the scent of what the Wizards were planning, and, lo and behold, group members decided that they, too, had to be there. They gathered with their dogs in the lounge before the game.
Corgis were some of the most popular dogs at the Washington Wizards’ Hoops & Hounds night. (Courtesy of the Washington Wizards)
The Wizards senior director for integrated marketing, Emily Miller, had an idea that could have given the team a home-court advantage. She asked the game operations staff if the sound of a doorbell ringing could be played on the arena loudspeakers. Doorbells tend to prompt dogs to bark, and a chorus of barking had the potential to throw off the opposing New Orleans Pelicans during trips to the free-throw line.
Wizards players loved the idea when they were told about it before Sunday’s game.
Jordan Poole, a career 88-percent shooter from the foul line, said the sound of barking — especially if a player didn’t expect it — had the potential to unsettle a pro before his first or second attempts. “If there was a way you would try to sneak a free-throw miss out of me, or two, it might be some dogs,” Poole said, smiling.
Corey Kispert, a career 80-percent free-throw shooter, said he would be thrown off-kilter if two sections’ worth of dogs suddenly started barking. “It would confuse me more than anything,” Kispert said. “It’s kind of what you want from free-throw defense, and any chance you can get a little bit of a leg up in these games, the better.”
The Wizards’ game-operations staff ultimately declined to play any doorbell chimes during the Pelicans’ free throws. It might have helped. New Orleans won the game 110-98, partly on the strength of 18-of-20 shooting from the free-throw line.
From the players’ perspective, the evening wasn’t a total loss. When players arrived at the arena, they had the opportunity to walk into the building with dogs that are up for adoption. Poole and Kispert decided to walk in with a hound mix named Harley. The team shared those images on social media, hoping fans would consider adopting the dogs.
On the Washington Wizards’ first Hoops & Hounds night, Harley, who is available for adoption, is walked into Capital One Arena by Jordan Poole. As Poole admired Harley, Poole said: “Well, if this doesn’t tell you to get a dog, then I don’t know what does.” pic.twitter.com/wUVEmldnlt
— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) January 5, 2025
Poole, who owns three cats in his D.C.-area home, grinned as he walked Harley toward the Wizards’ locker room.
“I loved it,” Poole said a few hours later. “It also was going to a good cause, which is rescuing animals in need or animals that don’t have stable homes. I’m always down for something like that, for sure.”
The night’s crowning moment occurred early in the second quarter. During a timeout, fans were urged to hold their dogs overhead for the “Lion King Cam,” which displayed a few dogs on the arena’s video boards.
Sanders held Comet aloft, and Sanders’ wife, Katy Cook, held Rocket.
“I expected them to be a little on edge,” Sanders said of the dogs. “But they don’t seem on edge at all.”
(Top photo of Gary Shackleford and his American Staffordshire Terrier, Dewey: Josh Robbins / The Athletic)
