Fetching Fame: Omaha the Bat Dog’s Success Story

Omaha the Bat Dog has found recognition and near celebrity status doing what comes naturally

It’s a dream for every four-legged friend – playing fetch for a job.

In the heart of the Irvine Great Park Baseball Stadium, one unlikely hero has made a name for herself. Meet Omaha the Bat Dog . She’s the Golden Retriever/Flat-Coated Retriever/White Swiss Shepherd mix with a knack for retrieving wood baseball bats.

While the players focus on perfecting their swings and the coaches strategize their next move, Omaha the Bat Dog fetches bats and brings them back to the dugout… all with a little more style and flair than your normal bat boy or bat girl. Her tireless enthusiasm and loyal service has made her an indispensable part of the team, proving that sometimes, the most beloved players aren’t always the ones with a number on their back.

Inspiration From 2,400 Miles Away

The inspiration to train a dog to retrieve bats came from David Lamm, the Orange County Riptide’s General Manager. After seeing an ESPN E:60 documentary called “The Family Business”, he  thought it a great idea for the Riptide to have their own bat dog.

David shared the video with his wife Jessica, and they both agreed. They wanted to add a dog with strong retrieval instincts to the family. What better breed of dog than the ones featured in the documentary. Hence, the Lamms reached out to the Southern California Golden Retriever Rescue who placed their name on the waiting list.

Early Beginnings

At only 8 weeks old, Omaha meets her big brother Guinness in the front yard of her new home.
(Photo Courtesy: Lamm family)

Born on November 15, 2022, a dog soon-to-be-named Omaha entered the world as a beautiful Golden Retriever/Flat-Coated Retriever/White Swiss Shepherd mix. After eight weeks of growing and maturing, on January 13, 2023, David and Jessica selected this pup with aspirations of training her into the first OC Riptide Bat Dog.

With a German Shepherd mix (Guinness) already part of the family, David and Jessica adopted Omaha with the sole intention of training her to retrieve bats. Little did they know how much a Golden Retriever mix could impact their lives for the better.

The Training

Through a mutual friend and colleague, in February 2024 David connected with a dog trainer by the name of Greg Ogden who took a chance on Omaha. Ogden has a six year background training hunting dogs but has never taken on the task of training a bat-retrieval dog. Although the item to bring back differs from a duck or a quail, the dog doesn’t have to seek out the object or go a far distance.

To begin, Ogden and Lamm started Omaha the Bat Dog with obedience training. They implemented commands such as, “sit,” “stay,” and “come,” so that Omaha could learn directions on and off the field. The next step involved one of Omaha’s favorite toys. Lamm brought this toy to the training sessions to have her retrieve it in exchange for a treat along with positive reinforcement. (Typically lots of belly rubs for an especially good job.)

After she mastered simple commands and retrieving the toy, the real training began; Swinging the bat on the field and learning how to maneuver around numerous distractions in order to focus on the wooden bat. Omaha trained on her own, as well as with youth teams willing to welcome her to share their practice field. The Placentia 12U Select Punishers allowed Omaha, Ogden and Lamm to tag along to give Omaha a sense of real-time game scenarios with players on the field as well. Practice with pre-teens helped but how would Omaha do when it really counts?

Challenges and Turning Points

Lamm and Ogden knew training Omaha would present challenges, especially training a dog to fetch a wooden bat on command in a stadium full of noise and distractions. Lamm targeted June 9th, the third game on the OC Riptide home schedule, for Omaha to make her debut. Her first game action saw mixed results but provided a valuable learning experience for Ogden and Lamm.

A rolling baseball will always catch the attention of a dog no matter how much training she has received.
(Photo credit: Dingers Photography)

For starters, eliminating confusion in the face of distractions proved key to Omaha’s future success. When a player gets hit by a pitch or gets a walk, they typically throw their bat back along with any protective arm and shin guards towards the on deck circle. Knowing this now, Omaha does not go out and attempt to retrieve bats in that situation to avoid mixing up which bat she should bring back next to all the other bats in the on deck circle.

Setting up Omaha the Bat Dog for success includes knowing the nature of all dogs, not just retriever breeds. In baseball when the defensive team records the third out at first base, the first baseman typically rolls the baseball towards the pitching mound. During a game vs. the San Diego SunRays, Omaha became distracted by the rolling baseball, abandoned retrieving the bat and grabbed the ball instead. Another learning moment to understand that she needs to wait until the ball has come to rest before sending her out to get the bat.

An additional tool to set Omaha the Bat Dog up for success included Lamm and Ogden using the canine’s keen sense of smell and utilizing it to her advantage. In the first few games, Omaha would run to the bat, sniff it, and then return to the dugout without the bat. At the suggestion of Ogden, Lamm started rubbing one of his worn shirts over the players’ bats pre-game. This way the bat would smell like her dad and she would want to bring it back to him.

Technology and instant messaging with other “bat dogs” via their social media accounts played a role in Omaha’s eventual success. Lamm found that other dogs experienced the same problems Omaha had in the beginning. Messaging with Bat Dog Rookie, a bat dog featured in the ESPN documentary that started it all for Lamm, gave great guidance. Lamm credits Rookie and Rookie’s owner for a lot of Omaha’s success.

Pursuing Perfection

Nobody’s perfect. Even a Golden Retriever who loves to play fetch can struggle.

“She’s like any player,” Lamm said. “Sometimes she has her bad days and goes 0-3 and we have to send her back down to the minors [for more practice].”

Ogden, who played baseball in his youth, agreed that training can simulate situations but real game repetitions creates the most valuable learning experiences.

“She just had to get used to the distractions of being out on the field,” Ogden said. “Once she got that down, it went a whole lot smoother.”

Celebrity Status

In the beginning of the 2024 summer season, Omaha the Bat Dog needed to learn how to manage and block out the stimuli of crowd noise, the opponent’s catcher, an umpire and fielders. These distractions did not exist during training when Odgen and Lamm would practice on a little league field on Tuesday mornings. With some time off to practice and good success upon her return, she has picked up more and more bats as the season progressed. Lamm credits the Riptide fans with Omaha’s success and determination to continue to work and get better.

Omaha the Bat Dog took a break from retrieving bats to pose for a photo with Arroyo Seco Saints photographer Iris Wang.
(Photo courtesy: Iris Wang)

“Some of these fans treat her like a celebrity and point her out on the concourse and ask to take pictures with her,” Lamm remarked. “Sometimes, at times of struggle, fans would even say that her mishaps made the game more interesting in an effort to encourage her… and me to keep putting her out there.”

Those early season struggles look like things of the past. In her most successful and most recent game on July 24th, Omaha retrieved bats in the first, second, third, fifth and seventh innings. She went a perfect 11-for-11 on her retrieval attempts giving the fans, as well as the Riptide organization, hope and excitement for her return in the 2025 season.

“Batting 1.000 and going a perfect 11-for-11 on the night will put you into the Hall of Fame,” Lamm said with a wry smile. “The players in the dugout all say they wish they could have a perfect night at the plate like Omaha.”

What’s in a Name?

Before the Lamm’s adopted Omaha, the foster family named her Perri in order to identify her from her litter mates. So why name her Omaha? Big fans of Peyton Manning and his famous “Omaha!” audible call? Not so much…

Staying true to their roots and lovers of college baseball, the Lamms inspiration for their future bat retrieval dog’s name came from the largest city in Nebraska. Every June, the eyes of the college baseball world turn to Omaha, the home of the College World Series since 1950. Maybe one day, Omaha could make an appearance at her namesake and retrieve bats during the College World Series?

As if shot out of a cannon, Omaha the Bat Dog transforms into “fur missile” mode and has eyes on the prize for another successful retrieval.
(Photo Credit: JGray.Media)

Looking Towards the Future

David and Jessica do not see an end to Omaha’s career after the 2024 Riptide season. Instead, the two have much bigger plans for the near future.

“I want to do more with her,” David said. “After the OC Riptide season is over in August, I want to look into having her retrieve bats for the local minor league teams and see what we can do with that,”

While Omaha still has much of her youth left and many years of bat-retrieving ahead of her, the Lamm’s plan on adopting another dog once Omaha gets close to retiring.

For any dog owners or potential dog adopters looking to recreate Omaha’s situation, David has a suggestion:

“Start them young. It might sound cliché, but it’s cliché for a reason. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

(P)UPDATE: Upon completion of the OC Riptide 2024 summer ball season, Omaha made appearances at all three Class-A minor league affiliates in Southern California.

She made her minor league debut with the Lake Elsinore Storm (San Diego Padres) on August 17, 2024 and a return on August 31, 2024. The following weekend, Omaha the Bat Dog appeared at the Inland Empire 66ers (Los Angeles Angels) August 24, 2024 game and also a return trip on September 5, 2024. Omaha completed her tour of the minor leagues when she retrieved bats for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Los Angeles Dodgers) on September 3, 2024.

(P)UPDATE 2: Upon completion of the Minor League season in September 2024, the Storm and 66ers expressed interest in making Omaha a regular feature at their home games.

On February 6, 2025, the Lake Elsinore Storm officially announced Omaha the Bat Dog would become the first official bat dog in the Storm’s franchise history. In a press conference style posting on social media, Kaz Egan, Lake Elsinore Storm On-Field Emcee/Corporate Sales Executive/Promotions Director, proclaimed Omaha’s choice to work for the Storm as “the most important and consequential free agent decision in 2025”.

HUGE FREE AGENT NEWS: Omaha will now be the exclusive MiLB Bat Dog for the 2025 Storm!! 🐶 🌩️

You will be able to see her at The Lake Elsinore Diamond nearly every Wednesday, Friday, & Saturday all summer long! #EmbraceTheStorm🌩️ pic.twitter.com/TnZLh4ZfNi

— Lake Elsinore Storm (@Storm_Baseball) February 6, 2025

Omaha then jumped onto a chair behind a table displaying the hats of the California League affiliates. She nosed and pawed at the Lake Elsinore Storm hat, thus making her choice. Despite Omaha working for the Storm in 2025, this will not impact her appearances for the OC Riptide in 2025.