The Washington Nationals lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 12-6 on Tuesday, but for the team’s furry friends in the stands, the fresh air and unrelenting attention from their owners felt like a victory anyway.

Tuesday, the Nationals held their summer Pups in the Park night. Ahead of the first pitch, hundreds of dogs made their way into the stadium and filed into the stands for one of the most pawesome games of the year.

The Nationals made seats available in a pet-friendly outfield reserved section for the game and had water bowls available for the dogs in the Family Picnic Area. While you’d assume the noise would raise the woof, there was strangely not much barking during the game. Instead, there was chaos in the concourse and watering stations as fellow dogs sniffed and investigated each other.

Many of the dogs were decked out in Nationals colors, along with the occasional dog in a baby shark costume. Fur real.

Baby shark doo doo doo doo pic.twitter.com/TvldsnsPgr

— RMNB (@russianmachine) August 31, 2021

Whether the dogs understood the nuance of the baseball going on around them is unknown, although arguably some of them have the basics down – perhaps moreso than some Orioles players.

Tonight’s starting catcher: pic.twitter.com/pnoYhhksik

— RMNB (@russianmachine) August 31, 2021

With the loss, the National’s record fell to 55-76 — dog-gone it! — but proceeds from the dog ticket sales benefitted the Human Rescue Alliance. Honestly, it’s the leash they could do.

Here are my photos as I played pup-arazzi for the evening.

Photos

Photos: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB