For the fourth season, the Buffalo Sabres are working with WNY Heroes Pawisitve for Heroes organization to train a therapy dog, who doubles as the team’s pup for the season.  

Tuesday morning the team introduced Audie, a two-and-a-half-month-old Great Dane puppy, “still growing into her paws,” as this year’s team dog.  

 

Audie was named in honor of the Memorial Auditorium, which long-time Sabres fans will recognize as the team’s original home from 1970 through 1996.  

She and her owners will go through careful training and preparation that will allow Audie to be a service dog for a veteran at the end of the program. Training is sponsored by the Buffalo Sabres Foundation.  

As was the case for her predecessors, Rick, Nikki and Blue, Audie will make special appearances at select home games at KeyBank Center this season, helping her get used to being adored by fans (and getting comfortable with lots of people and loud noises, skills she’ll need to master as a service dog) and posing for photos. All three previous Sabres dogs have been matched successfully with veterans: Rick now lives with and helps US Coast Guard veteran Chris Kankiewicz; Nikki is in service to Air Force veteran Sondra Lee Ramos, and Blue, last year’s pup, helps US Army veteran Kristofer Bystrak.  

The team promises to post frequent updates about Audie and her training to all their social media platforms, including her own account, @SabresPup on X and Instagram 

The Buffalo Sabres v. The New Jersey Devils

Gallery Credit: Getty Images

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