No Prep: Dub is Dogging It On a Hot Summer Day

We have all seen them, usually at sporting events, their natural environment.

Mascots.

I’ve always looked at mascots as real life cartoon characters. They’re always happy and always smiling. They bring joy, and who doesn’t want to do that?

I was about to find out.

The Bailey’s Comfort Services Bailey Big Dog mascot is a regular around town. He’s at ballparks and street fairs and anywhere else he might offer a friendly wave to fans. You never see who’s inside the suit. That messes with the magic. Here’s a secret - on one hot Tuesday afternoon, it was me.

I went over to Bailey’s and met up with Hank Gautreaux, the company’s project manager, and Lauren Chavous, the head of marketing. Hank was going to help me become Bailey the Big Dog. Usually with No Prep there is no prep, but in the interest of full disclosure, I must admit to bringing gym shorts and a dry-fit t-shirt to wear under the suit. I knew it was going to be hot and didn’t think the folks at Bailey’s would want a grown man in his underpants dancing around in their awesome mascot costume.

The first step was to have Hank help me put on the outside part of the suit, the furry exterior if you will, and then a padded contraption that fills the suit out. After that, Hank helped me with the dog paw shoes, the Bailey Big Dog head, and furry-fingered gloves. That was it. I was done. I was officially a mascot.

Except I wasn’t. Turns out, you are not a mascot until you have done some mascoting.

The first thing I noticed was that the suit took up a little more space than I thought. Also, it’s not very easy to see in there. My eyes were where Bailey’s mouth is, so to look people in the eyes, I had to really hold my head back. I know now why every mascot typically has a handler. They need a navigator!

Initially, I didn’t find moving around in the suit very difficult. It also wasn’t as hot as I thought it would be. Of course I was still inside at this point. There was also a small fan inside the head, but I think I accidentally switched it off when I was putting it on.

Once I got outside, the situation changed. It got hot - quick!

Hank fired up Bailey’s theme song, the Baha Men’s early aughts party anthem “Who Let the Dogs Out.”  I started breaking out my best moves, or at least the moves I thought would be appropriate for a mascot to do. That’s when OI discovered the more you move in the costume, the hotter you get. A nice back sweat appeared almost immediately.

Between the busting of moves I had a thought – this is not a job for the claustrophobic.

I continued to dance. I don’t remember “Who Let the Dogs Out” being 26 minutes long, but it sure felt that way inside the suit. I felt like I was running out of moves.

(Editor’s note: “Who Let the Dogs Out” runs a relatively brisk 3:26.)

Thankfully, the song ended, and with it my time as Bailey. I asked how long someone stays in the Bailey suit at events, and Hank said no more than 20 minutes at a time.

This was a fun experience, but I think it’s safe to say that Auggie from the Augusta GreenJackets and Hairy Dawg’s jobs are safe. I don’t think I’m cut out to be a mascot. To paraphrase another period party jam – it was getting hot in there.

Thanks again to Hank, Lauren and the whole team over at Bailey’s Comfort Services for helping me become a mascot, at least for a half hour, because as always, I had No Prep.