Shohei Ohtani shared some delightful moments of his pet canine, Decoy, on social media. Ohtani took part in the latest ad campaign for New Balance and travelled to the company’s headquarter in Boston alongside his furry friend.
Decoy was seen peacefully sitting on the couch and his dog bed in a couple of images, while in another he was captured with the Dodgers ace holding him close to his chest. In a short video, Shotime could be observed walking his dog in a park. The caption on the social media post read:
“WE GOT NOW. #newbalance.”
Decoy is a Dutch Kooikerhondje, and the Japanese translation of his name is “Dekopin,” which means to flick someone on the forehead. He has shared the limelight with the two-way ace since Shohei Ohtani made his move to the Dodgers last offseason.
Both fans and the organization love Dekopin, and the clubhouse even named the dog the real MVP (Most Valuable Pup) in 2024. Dekopin peacefully sat beside Shohei on the couch two years in a row as the Ohtani family watched the live presentation of the MVP awards announcement on the MLB Network.
The pup was witness to Ohtani’s maiden World Series title and was present on the victory parade bus alongside the NL MVP and his wife Mamiko Tanaka. The LA faithful erupted and started chanting MVP and the dog’s name when Shohei Ohtani lifted it up in his arms aboard the parade bus.
Shohei responses MVP and Decoy chants is amazing!
うわあ、大谷くん、ファンのMVPとディコイコールに答えてくれるなんてサイコー💙pic.twitter.com/ifnJlGJapN— DecoppieO★ (@Decop0htan17) November 3, 2024
Ohtani and Dekopin received a warm welcome on their special bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium in August.
Decoy threw the ceremonial first pitch to Shohei Ohtani on their special bobblehead night in Dodger Stadium
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The love for Ohtani and his pet dog can be understood by the sight that was visible on the streets of LA and outside the gates of Dodger Stadium as fans queued up in long lines to get their hands on the bobbleheads, almost six hours ahead of the scheduled gameday.
It wasn’t just the only special event that day, as Dekopin was scheduled to throw the ceremonial first pitch to Ohtani, who sat behind the home plate as the catcher.
“Decoy’s first pitch 🐶⚾️,” Ohtani captioned his Instagram post.
Dekopin wore the No. 17 Ohtani jersey as he took to the mound. He picked up the ball calmly and ran towards Shohei Ohtani to complete the procedure. Ohtani proceeded with giving it a couple of treats before taking him to the clubhouse as the Dodgers nation applauded the cute moment.
