Player Pets: Bob Woods and Bauer

Each month, Wild.com will feature a Minnesota Wild player or staff member and his pet(s), presented by PetSmart.

Assistant Coach Bob Woods' puppy is a is a twelve-and-a-half-year-old beagle and bulldog mix, known as a beabull.

Brandon Laxson: What kind of dog is Bauer?

Bob Woods: "He's a Beabull: a beagle and a bulldog mix. They crossed the two breeds to get rid of the health issues that both have. The breathing with the bulldog and the joint issues that the beagles have. He's got the bulldog body, the beagle snout, the spots of the bulldog."

BL: How did you pick that name?

BW: "We're a hockey family... our youngest son came up with it. It seemed fitting so we went with it." The Bauer name sure was a good fit, as this dog loves to play puck. "Bauer loves hockey. Not a lot of offense, he's strictly defense, but he loves to play. He loves when the hockey sticks come out."

BL: When and how did you get him?

BW: "My son and my wife had been pestering me for a dog for a long time. With two boys in hockey and stuff like that we were pretty busy, so I fought it off for a long time, but I was on my way home from a morning skate, and I said to myself, 'I'll just stop in the store and just take a peek.' I had no inclinations to buying a dog.

My wife always wanted a bulldog, but I was fighting that one because of their health issues. So, they bring me out this baby bulldog, he was cute and everything but I was just scared to go down that road. I said my son wanted a beagle and the guy looks at me and goes, 'I got just the thing!'

So, he brings me out these two beabulls. I played with them a little bit and he said this one was the best personality. It was the one I ended up taking. My wife was wondering what the heck was going on because I wasn't home at my usual time. It was actually a Valentine's Day gift for her."

"Our one son was home with a migraine," chimed in Bob's wife, Mary Sue. "And Bob came in [with the dog]. He bought it all! He bought everything!"

"Twenty-two hundred dollars later I had a dog with all the fixin's," Woods noted playfully. "I dropped him off in the house, and [the team was] going on a road trip so I told my wife, 'I'll be gone for a couple of weeks here. I expect him to be potty-trained by the time I get back.'"

"I wanted to kill him," she joked.

BL: How is he when you're on the road?

BW: "When I return from road trips, as soon as he hears that garage door open, he'd come down. His eyes would be half-shut. But he would give me a little bit of a 'hello' and run back up the stairs. He'll bring you a little treat every time, he'll bring you a toy or something. He always greets you with gifts. It doesn't matter if we won or lost, he's always happy to see us."

The couple noted that Bauer is also great on the road, handling a 40-hour road trip from Washington to Anaheim perfectly.

BL: What kind of personality does he have?

BW: "He likes to sleep in. When [my wife's] out of town and I got to get to practice early, especially in the winter, he doesn't look too excited about getting up.

"His personality was the best out of the two [from his litter]. Personality was big for us. [We wondered] if he was going to fit but he's been awesome.

"He's got a picture on the wall. We got graduation pictures for both boys and there's a picture of Bauer right there. It's amazing how much they become part of your family. They take on their own personality. He likes to be with everybody."

"He just lays and snores," Mary Sue laughed.

BL: What's your favorite memory of Bauer?

BW: "One time in Saskatoon they had a chuck-a-puck fundraiser. Bauer was supposed to go out there and grab one of the pucks but as soon as the mascots got on the ice, he was more interested in them and he chased them all over the ice. It was a pretty big crowd too, and the dads loved it. Oh, they were laughing while he was chasing those mascots. He didn't care about any pucks."