Nov 17 2010 08:26 PM
| Gone to the dog: Mets pitcher Bobby Parnell falls for lovable pooch at Citi Field pet event BY Nicholas Hirshon DAILY NEWS WRITER Tuesday, November 16th 2010, 4:00 AM  Mets pitcher Bobby Parnell's dog Abby could fetch his pitches. Parnell met her at the Mets 'Bark in the Park' night in September. Spring training is months away, but Mets reliever Bobby Parnell already has a charm to carry the club through the dog days of summer. It's his 4-month-old pup Abby - a cuddly mutt he adopted after meeting her during a pregame visit to Citi Field in September. "She definitely can't be a bad-luck charm," said Parnell, who boasted a 2.83 ERA last season. "She's been a blessing since we got her. She's been a great dog." Parnell fell in love with the pooch - a golden retriever-yellow lab mix - during the team's "Bark in the Park" night Sept. 27, when fans were encouraged to bring their dogs to the stadium. He later adopted the canine and named her Abby - a moniker he said fits the country atmosphere in Salisbury, N.C., where the right-hander lives with his fiancée, Maegan.  Abby lives with Parnell and his fiancee Megan "She's so calm and relaxing - and yet when you put her down, she's playful," he said. "When she was supposed to be chill, she was relaxed, and when she was supposed to be playful, she was." Parnell joked that Abby might help the fortunes of the struggling franchise, whose original mascot was a beagle named Homer, who often sat behind home plate at the Mets' inaugural ballpark, the Polo Grounds. Before the Sept. 27 game, the Mets had asked first baseman Ike Davis and catcher Josh Thole to pose for pictures with pups up for adoption at North Shore Animal League in Port Washington, L.I. Parnell, who grew up with dogs but never had his own, wandered into the dugout and joined the photo shoot. He said he was "immediately" drawn to Abby. "He just kept on holding the dog," said North Shore spokeswoman Neel Khairzada, who helped organize the event. "He didn't let go until they had to go out for their practice." The Amazins' were rained out that night, but that didn't dampen Parnell's affection for the dog. As he left Citi Field, he asked Mets spokeswoman Nicole Chayet where the pooches went. She said they had gone back to the shelter. "As a joke, I was like, 'Oh, what do you want to do? Adopt the dog?' And he said, 'Actually, maybe,'" Chayet recalled. The next day, Parnell again asked Chayet about the dogs. "To see him that excited about a little puppy was so cute," she said. Chayet called North Shore and learned Abby was still available. Parnell drove to the shelter a few days later to pick up the pup, then brought her to Citi Field for a few final photos before the long drive home. She's been his best free-agent acquisition so far - especially since her teething hasn't targeted any of his baseball equipment. "She's been home what - four weeks, ever since the season - and she has not chewed up one thing," Parnell marveled. "She's been a very good dog." |
