- Kate Bucci: I don't think there's one in there, buddy.
Oh, my gosh, crazies!
I started training probably when I was maybe 16.
I'm coming, I'm coming.
At this point, I've probably worked
at least 3,000 dogs in my career.
Go.
- But none quite like these two brothers.
- Come on, let's go.
Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, let's go!
♪ ♪
Let's go!
Yeah!
These guys--
they're so much part of my everyday life.
Out. Good job!
They're both border collies.
And these two very much enjoy being together.
And you can very much tell that they have that,
like, brother bond.
- They've also bonded with their owner and trainer,
Kate Bucci.
- I needed a strong, confident dog.
And I found Colt.
Yes.
Colt. [whistles]
Colt's just-- there's no fear of anything.
Kovu is more of the nerd.
He's more the goofy one.
Yes.
- Both are entertaining and fan favorites--
- Welcome to Warner Park here in Madison.
- For the Madison Mallards and Oconomowoc DockHounds.
- No, not our team.
Not our team.
We never bat first.
Hop up.
- These canines are ready for action.
- Get it.
- They're called "bat dogs."
- They're a lot quicker than the human bat boys.
The first time they go out and get a bat,
there's a lot of cheering.
Get it.
By the time they hit the bat, they're hitting the brakes,
and you'll see a lot of dust come up.
[laughs] Ooh, attaboy!
- Kate never intended to train Kovu and Colt as bat dogs.
- Come on! - It just sort of happened.
- Come on, come on, come on!
It started when we did
a seventh-inning stretch Frisbee thing.
And they said, "Do you think he can go fetch a bat?"
And I thought, "I think so."
I don't know; we never tried it.
Colt really didn't need a lot of training.
I showed him once, and he was good to go.
He'll look till he finds it. Yeah.
Kovu needed a little bit more.
It's really just a big game of fetch.
Go find the object and come back with it.
- When they're on deck, the dogs are laser focused.
- Nope, not us. Relax.
It's not us.
Colt is kind of like that serious marine
where he's like, I have a job to do, and I'm doing it.
Nothing can distract me.
Kovu, on the other hand, was very much like,
well, I'll do it, but I don't have the drive.
- No window. Come on!
- But when he's bat dogging, he's very serious about that.
- The dogs have become a big hit.
[crowd cheering]
- I just do it because they enjoy it.
It's never perfect.
They're dogs, and things happen.
Bats get thrown and different things.
- Kovu and Colt are all-stars.
With that notoriety comes baseball cards
and bobbleheads.
- It's more popular than I probably think.
He sees cameras, and he's like, ooh!
And he poses, and he's very comical in his personality
of being in the limelight.
Thank you.
- That fame isn't always easy for these hot dogs to handle.
- Kovu, come on.
Fetching the bat is the very easy part.
The hard part for them to handle is
the kids and dropping food on their head,
that part of being a bat dog,
being able to handle fans and noises.
- Baseball may be America's favorite pastime,
but for Kate and her dogs, it's a big game of fetch.
- Oh, hang on. I don't have it.
We've come so far.
And I've done stuff that I never even dreamed
I would be doing.
There's such a connection that I have with these two.
It's hard to explain.
People who have a 'heart dog' will understand it.
And they're both very much my heart dogs.