Serving puppy love at Hudson’s Bay tennis

The MVP of Hudson’s Bay girls tennis team doesn’t play the sport, but has a tennis ball with her at all times.

She isn’t a student either, yet attended last week’s spring sports assembly alongside her teammates.

Yep, she’s is the MVP, all right. In this case, Most Valuable Pup.

She is Dani, a 1-year-old female border collie who is a fixture at Bay’s practices and home and road matches. She’s more than a mascot; she is one of the Eagles.

“Oh, yeah,” senior doubles player Alyssa Hahn said, “she is.”

This spring is Dani’s second season as a member of Bay’s tennis team, and is the third dog to be named after someone affiliated with the NFL’s Miami Bay head coach Jim Goss.

First, he had Shula (for coach Don Shula), then Suh (for defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh). Now, it’s Dani for quarterback Dan Marino.

The Eagles’ upperclassmen, such as Hahn, Jessica Lira, and the No. 1 doubles team of Kylie and Kyanne Smith, remember Suh. Like Dani, Suh was a young border collie and a staple in Bay’s tennis program. But before the 2016 season, Suh died from complications of cancer, leaving a noticeable void.

Enter Dani.

Purchased from an Arizona breeder by Goss and his wife, Dani was immediately immersed in tennis, Jim Goss said, thanks to the plethora of tennis balls inside the couple’s Vancouver home.

“By eight weeks,” he said, “she was already playing fetch.

“Tennis is her thing.”

Goss is a district resource officer at Bay, and drives home daily after school to bring Dani to practices. When she arrives, she’s ready to play. Same goes for home and road matches, seeking her next friend to play fetch. She’s very obedient, the players say; she stays off the tennis courts and doesn’t wander off more than 30 or 40 yards.

Since school district policy prevents all forms of animal life (except service animals) in the passenger area of transportation vehicles, Goss often drives separately to away matches so Dani can tag along. Other coaching-staff members ride with the students.

Dani’s impact is second to none, providing boundless energy and endless affection, said Lira, a senior doubles player.

She’s the perfect pick-me-up, too, she added, if a player has a less-than-stellar match. Lira also has a pup at home, but treats Dani like part of her own family.

“She’s an animal, but she brings so much joy to our team,” Lira said. “She’s one of a kind.

“Sometimes,” Lira added, “we’re a bit more happy to see Dani than Goss.”

And Dani is just as happy to see them. During Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to Kelso at home, not two minutes passed after Kylie and Kyanne’s 6-1, 6-2 sweep of Shelby Ott and Zoie Johnson before she greeted the twin sisters.

Naturally, Dani had a ball.

“If she wasn’t here,” Kyanne Smith said, “the team wouldn’t feel complete.”