Ovie is finally hanging up his stick.
No no, not that Ovie.
Ovie The Bulldog happens to be the other Ovie with the NHL’s Washington Capitals. Caps fans would be barking mad if Alexander Ovechkin, the team’s superstar captain who also goes by Ovi, was calling it quits.
But yes, Ovie The Bulldog, has taken his last away game with his beloved team after 50 games on the road over the years.
So for his finale, the 10-year-old pooch marked his territory, so to speak, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
LIVE FROM @TMobileArena IT’S HOCKEY O’CLOCK! #LETSGOCAPS The Final Road Game, thank you everyone. Licks & slobber for anyone who has ever stopped and said hi. Special guest @BarkAndreFurry #10thSeason #CapsBulldog #CapitalsBulldog pic.twitter.com/qPHU7jtUqr
— Ovie the Bulldog (@OvietheBulldog) February 17, 2020
The dog made the “bittersweet” announcement on social media in advance of the Presidents’ Day game against the Golden Knights.
“I have been crashing outside games for close to a decade & after much discussion, it’s time to slow down & rest some,” the dog’s humans posted. “This is part my current health battle, part my age (10) which is very senior for a bulldog, these trips take a lot out of me and I don’t have the stamina to hang out like I used to.”
So now it’s cookies and naps on the sofa for Ovie.
But it’s not exactly teaching an old dog entirely new tricks.
“This isn’t a retirement,” the Instagram posted continued, “Just a change to my appearances. I’ll still be watching games on TV and cheering like I always have So, today, my last appearance outside an arena game.”
But the show did go on, albeit sleepily, for this one last hurrah.
Here you can see Ovie hanging in Las Vegas with Bark Andre Furry, the canine companion of the Vegas franchise, so named after Marc-Andre Fleury, the team’s superstar goalie.
LIVE FROM @TMobileArena IT’S HOCKEY O’CLOCK! #LETSGOCAPS The Final Road Game, thank you everyone. Licks & slobber for anyone who has ever stopped and said hi. Special guest @BarkAndreFurry #10thSeason #CapsBulldog #CapitalsBulldog pic.twitter.com/qPHU7jtUqr
— Ovie the Bulldog (@OvietheBulldog) February 17, 2020
It’s Hockey Knight in Vegas!
**** Matinee Edition ****@Capitals
vs@GoldenKnights
Ovie’s farewell to the road!
LET’S DO THAT HOCKEY!
~ Bark🐾#GoKnightsGo #VegasBorn #WSHvsVGK #Gr8tness pic.twitter.com/HFUMyHrWCT— Bark-André Furry (@BarkAndreFurry) February 17, 2020
And so, enjoy your well-earned time off-ice after six long years on the road.
What a great record.
This v good boy is retiring from road trips! Thanks for the support through the years @OvietheBulldog 💕 if anyone deserves to lay on the sofa and eat cookies all game, it’s you! Love you boy. pic.twitter.com/wEfT4iY0Jw
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) February 18, 2020
Oh, and sadly for Ovie — and Ovi — the Knights beat the Caps 3-2.
Photos Ovie the Bulldog/Twitter
