PHILADELPHIA — The most notable part about Bryan De La Cruz’s Friday wasn’t that he recorded a pinch hit in an extra-inning victory for the Phillies.

Last night, Citizens Bank Park played host to “Save a Pet Night” in partnership with the Pennsylvania SPCA:

While there were a slew of other dogs and cats at Citizens Bank Park, this litter of puppies particularly stole the show on social media. De La Cruz decided to adopt one for his daughter, whom he hopes the puppy will steal the heart of.

“My daughter, she wants a dog. So we were going to adopt a dog back home in DR [Dominican Republic], so I’m going to surprise her and give her this one,” De La Cruz said through translator Diego D’Aniello.

You might be inclined to think that these are Siberian Husky pups. But they’re actually Alaskan Klee Kai puppies. According to the American Kennel Club, Alaskan Klee Kai are “a small, energetic spitz-type dog bred to look like a miniature Siberian Husky.” They are estimated to grow to between 12 and 17 inches tall, while weights can span between six and 25 pounds. Their life expectancy is 13 to 16 years.

De La Cruz, for now, has to keep it a secret from his one-year-old daughter, who the puppy is for. It will be the first time that the 29-year-old outfielder has ever owned a dog. He’ll get the puppy and bring it home to the Dominican Republic when the season concludes to surprise her. However, he has two sons, a seven-year-old and a five-year-old, one of whom has already chimed in about a potential name change.

“They call him Pickles, but one of my older sons told me that he don’t want that name, he want another name,” De La Cruz joked in English.

Perhaps the best twist in this story is that not only did De La Cruz adopt one of the Alaskan Klee Kai puppies, but so did D’Aniello, who has been the translator for the Phillies since the start of the 2024 season. His puppy needs a name, and one of his early thoughts was that “Walk-off” might make sense considering that Alec Bohm delivered a walk-off triple for the Phillies on the same night the puppy was adopted at Citizens Bank Park.

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