Meet Bolt: The Tampa Bay Lightning's Official Mascot

Tampa Bay has had a heck of a week! The Lightning won the Stanley Cup again. Tropical Storm Elsa also dominated the news for the last few days. While many of our canine patients weren’t too interested in either of these events, there is one cute pup that was definitely happy to celebrate the win. That would be Bolt, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s biggest four-legged fan. A Lakewood Ranch, FL vet discusses this Very Good Boy below.

 Bolt Biography

Bolt is a yellow Labrador. As you can probably guess, he’s absolutely adorable. While we love all dogs, yellow labs do have a reputation for being extremely obedient, loving, and loyal. The Lightning adopted the furry ball of cute back in 2019. Bolt was actually only here for a little while, before going back to Chicago to complete his petucation and become a guide dog. However, it was a win/win situation. The organization that trained the furry ambassador got some extra visibility, Bolt got to enjoy our sunny weather, the Lightning got an adorable new fan, and Tampa Bay got super cute puppy pictures to fawn over!

Southeastern Guide Dogs

Southeastern Guide Dogs trains dogs to help people with vision impairments. Guide dogs—or Seeing Eye Dogs, as you may know them—help humans perform a variety of tasks, such as crossing streets and navigating around obstacles. Bolt was here because his owner, Missy Davis, a Lightning employee, had volunteered to raise and train him for the organization. As part of the pup’s education, he attended games, collected ear scritches, and won the hearts of many Lightning team members and fans. He also caused a bit of a stir by licking the Stanley Cup after our 2020 victory.

Social Media

Bolt is now all grown up, but he is still charming people. You can keep up with his doggy adventures—which include trips to Starbucks for puppucinos–on his Twitter and Instagram pages. However, he never did end up becoming a guide dog. As it turned out, the lovable pooch had a developing eye condition—cataracts—that disqualified him from the position. He’s currently living his best life, and is a die-hard Lightning fan. You may often notice him wearing Tampa Bay Lightning pet gear, which you can find at the NHL site here .

Please feel free to contact us, your Lakewood Ranch, FL animal clinic, anytime. Go Bolts!