NORFOLK, VA (WTKR) — First the vest clipped on. Then each foot gets a light blue shoe, designed to protect the incredibly sensitive paws. After that, the unmistakable blue Rex Specs are applied.
It's at that point where Hudson, a four-month-old yellow lab, is ready to go to one of his happy places: watching Old Dominion football.
"If he was a person, he'd be the coolest person ever," said Monarch senior wide receiver Ali Jennings.
Hudson is training to be a service dog at Mutts with a Mission. The organization works with teams like the Norfolk Admirals, who also sponsor a dog, but have never had a college football team show interest.
That changed when Mutts With A Mission founder Brooke Corson met Jen Rahne, the wife of ODU football coach Ricky Rahne. Mutts With A Mission, which started in 2008, trains and places service dogs with veterans and first responders.
"My son plays lacrosse with the Rahne's kids," Corson, a former Army drill sergeant, said. "Jen would see us with dogs in training at practices. She came over, started talking to me, and that's how it all got started."
"She wanted to do something unique for Father's Day," Ricky Rahne remembered. "She also wanted to help people and I thought it was a pretty cool gift."
In July, Corson and her staff brought a number of seven-week-old puppies to meet the team after a practice and see which dog they gravitated to.
"It's funny because Hudson had a light blue collar on and he went over to one of the weight racks and kind hung out," Corson said. "All the other puppies wound up running back to me and they were like, 'That's the puppy we want.'"
It took Hudson almost no time to get used to his new family.
"He gets in the tubs with us, the ice baths," Jennings said. "He just brightens everybody's day. When he comes, everybody's smiling, hugging up on him, showing him love, and he's giving it right back."
"It's just cool to have a team dog, and he's become more than that," said sophomore linebacker Jason Henderson. "He's a big thing on social media, he's popular with all the sports teams here and everybody loves him."
His popularity has stretched to Twitter, his account nearing 3,000 followers. When the University of Virginia said Hudson wouldn't be allowed on the field for ODU's road game at Scott Stadium, a campaign broke out and he ultimately was allowed to be on the Monarch sideline.
The impact he has, however, goes beyond his following. In many ways, Hudson is already training to do what he'll be destined to do in two years.
"After UVa, which was an incredibly tough loss, we waited until some of them came out to get on the bus," Corson said. "Some of them, no words. They'd come up and pet him and get on the bus."
"When you don't have the practice you wanted, or even you had a great practice, having a puppy in your hand, a little humility to it," Rahne said.
Hudson is now big enough he can walk with the team during ODU's pre-game Monarch March. In previous weeks, a player was voted to carry him.
That's not the only role that could be expanding for Hudson.
"I know something they want to do is have him run on the field and grab the tee," Corson said. "We're working on that."
Until then, he'll stay in his sideline tent and be ready to give a helping hand, whether players and coaches need comfort or are coming to play after a big win.
"I think that we'll probably continue with it in the future because it's something where we're able to help somebody else," Rahne said.
"We didn't even expect it, we didn't realize how big it was going to be," Corson said. "It's bringing a lot of awareness to service dogs as well."
