Nothing to see here, just a dog trying to steal a baseball bat mid-game

An adorable aspect of baseball you may not be aware of is bat dogs: canine helpers at minor league games who pick up bats and balls when they’re dropped and return them to where they’re supposed to be.

Unfortunately some of them are rather too efficient at their job – like Miss Lou Lou Gehrig, a much-loved bat dog for the Greensboro Grasshoppers in North Carolina.

In a recent game for the Grasshoppers, Jhonny Santos thought he had drawn a walk and, preparing to make his way to first base, put his bat on the ground.

However, the ball was called a strike so Santos was to continue with his at-bat.

But that was lost on Lou Lou, who did what she is trained to do and tried to get the bat off Santos, even as he tucked it under his arm.

After several failed attempts to get hold of it, Lou Lou eventually gave up, retreated and let Santos get on with it.

Santos probably won’t be tossing his bat away prematurely again any time soon – at least not when Lou Lou’s around.