Meet Chase That Golden Thunder
Chase  
Chase That Golden Thunder is the newest addition to the Trenton Thunder family, a Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. A seven-year-old Golden Retriever [2007], Chase loves to catch Frisbees, play fetch, and play with kids. He was trained by the owner of Golden Jake the Diamond Dog, Jeff Marchal. Jake had become a national entertainment act and appeared at Waterfront Park since the Thunder’s inaugural season in 1994.

Chase is quite the busy boy as he is additionally involved with the “It’s Your Turn,” a program offered by the Trenton Thunder and the NJEA for Kindergarten and First Grade students. Chase and members of the Thunder staff visit with children and read It’s Your Turn, a children’s book about Thunder mascot Boomer.  

Chase adores kids as you can tell in this happy-boy photo of him, and the kids at the ballpark are thrilled when they can have their pictures taken with him.

Trenton Thunder General Manager, Rick Brenner, who has had Chase for about a year now [in 2003], says that this Golden gem is now his best friend and can't imagine what life would be like without him. He is joined at Rick's home by Sweeper the Cat, who is also amused by this special boy. When they are not lying with one another they can be found playing friendly dog-and-cat chasing games.

Chase and his palsChase is happiest when he is at the ballpark. But spending 15 hours a day at the ballpark is a very tough job indeed, for both Rick and Chase. Yet, according to Rick, Chase’s favorite word is Ballpark as he seems to come alive when greeting crowds of cheering fans. Of course, Chase does a lot of chillin’ during the day at the stadium, even if he is not always thrilled about having to rest while Rick goes off to tend to the many parts of running a minor league team. They go about town together and no matter where they appear, kids and adults alike excitedly recognize that there is a celebrity in their midst.

In August 2003, Chase completed his premier season with the team. And, his dad Rick reached a historic milestone during the season as well as the team welcomed their 4,000,000th fan in franchise history, becoming the fastest Double-A franchise to reach that mark in the history of Minor League Baseball. The Thunder also set another record as they drew a total of 427,567 fans during the 2003 season, becoming the first Double-A team to draw at least 400,000 fans in nine consecutive seasons. We sure do believe Golden Chase had a lot to do with this feat. He has been a real pro and is loved by all.


Working Is Fun
Check out the wonderful news articles below about our Chase boy.

      N.J. Minor Leagues
      No Time for Tricks
 

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