Friday morning, at an alternately silly and very, very serious press conference held at the Wisconsin Humane Society, Milwaukee Brewers officials confirmed that Hank the Dog is, in fact, the real Hank the Dog. The confirmation finally—finally!—puts to rest the ridiculously well-publicized rumors that the stray dog that wandered into Brewers spring training back in 2014, and was subsequently taken in by the team and fans alike, was dead and had been replaced by an imposter Hank.
The proof of the non-controversy? Brewers COO Rick Schlesinger produced a notarized letter from Dr. William Rice, a veterinarian at Lakeland Animal Hospital, who examined the “ballpark pup” and determined the microchip embedded in the dog’s furry little body was the same as the one that had been implanted in 2014. Dental records from when Hank was unceremoniously neutered in 2014 also matched. Any changes in Hank’s appearance over the last two years were chalked up to the love and care he’s received from his adoptive family, and the fact that he’s taken a bath.
So there you go. Woof.