Meet Finn, the Sharks’ newest addition
The San Jose Sharks may have lost Joe Pavelski, but they picked up a new team member this summer who has an even more adorable mug. He’s Finn, a 2-month old yellow Labrador puppy who the team will be supporting in his quest to become an assistance dog with Canine Companions.
Finn, who was officially introduced at an SAP Center event Wednesday, already knows how to work a crowd. And he’s cute enough that beloved Sharks mascot S.J. Sharkie better watch out. Finn has a growing social media presence at @Sharkspup on Twitter and Instagram, where he’s seen doing all those things puppies do – playing, posing around San Jose and being generally cute.
He’ll spend the next year and a half being raised by Shari Rodenberger, a volunteer puppy raiser and the president of the South Bay chapter of Canine Companions for Independence. Her job will be to teach Finn approximately 30 commands that would prepare him for a job as an assistance dog. After that comes six to nine months at Canine Companions Northwest Regional Training Center where he’ll learn specific skills like picking up dropped items, opening and closing doors, and turning lights on and off. If he graduates from that training, he’ll be paired with a new partner.
This isn’t the Sharks’ first involvement with Canine Companions. The group received a $50,000 grant as part of the Sharks Foundation’s Season of Giving Campaign in 2017, and that December an assistance dog named Lake and his 17-year-old companion, Danny, dropped the first puck at a game. Let’s hope we see Finn out on center ice this season.