Boise State’s famous tee-fetching dog dies suddenly. ‘Kohl was … one of a kind.’
Cowboy Kohl can now retrieve kicking tees to his heart’s content in heaven.
The rescue black lab who served as Boise State football’s official tee-retrieving dog passed away Thursday in Pocatello.
He was 11 years old.
“Twelve days ago he was just not feeling well, and we took him to our vet here in Eastern Idaho,” said Jim Closson, head trainer at TK Hot Retrievers, in a text message Thursday night to the Idaho Statesman. “They found a cancer tumor on his spinal column. It was very, very fast cancer.
“Earlier today he collapsed and was paralyzed from the neck down. We rushed him into the vet, but nothing could be done to save him.”
In addition to his starring role on The Blue at Albertsons Stadium, Kohl retrieved baseball bats for the Boise Hawks and shot free throws at halftime of basketball games. He retired over the summer, and his son TK Hot Bluefield “Blitz” is now following in his paw prints with the Hawks and Boise State.
Kohl was making the most of his retirement.
“He was enjoying time at his second-favorite place in the world, the Closson family ranch west of Pocatello,” Jim said. “His first-favorite place was always on The Blue. The energy of the crowd and the sound of the cannon gave him more excitement and pleasure than anything else in his life.”
Kohl was scheduled to appear at Boise State’s home opener Sept. 10 vs. UTEP to pass the torch — err, tee — to his son.
The Closson family got Kohl when he was 3 1/2 years old, according to a Facebook post from TK Hot Retrievers. His black coat was bleached brown from the Las Vegas sun, and a broken and infected tooth resulted in “the most severe bad breath imaginable.” He was 13 pounds under weight. The family picked up Kohl on a Sunday, and he was at the vet Monday morning to attend to his health issues, including surgery to remove the bad tooth.
While Kohl knew basic obedience, he didn’t truly come out of his shell until the family started to use motivational-based training. Jim’s daughter, Britta Closson, went on to become Kohl’s beloved trainer and handler.
Kohl’s story went viral in October of 2016 when ESPN took a behind-the-scenes look at his on-field performance. CBS Sports wrote an article about it and tweets of Kohl’s exploits made the rounds. He was voted Pardon My Take’s Football Guy of the Week on Twitter in 2017, taking nearly 60% of the 18,000-plus votes, with the closest competitor earning only 20% of the vote.
Kohl made more than 500 appearances on local, national and international television, including more than 20 special features on ESPN, “SportsCenter,” NBC Sports, CBS Sports, ABC Sports, FOX Sports, MLB Network and ESPNU, according to TK Hot Retrievers. Kohl and Britta were even featured on Animal Planet, Rush Limbaugh, Sirius XM, the Today Show and Barstool Sports.
“The ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ and the cheers that Kohl gets is phenomenal. He’s like part of our team,” then-Hawks general manager Bob Flannery told the Idaho Statesman in 2017. “He’ll be barking (during games). We found out the reason is he’s getting impatient because he wants the bat. (I told players) he wants the bat, so make sure you put the ball in play.”
News of Kohl’s passing, which happened to fall on National Dog Day, hit fans hard.
“Build him a statue out front. He was synonymous with Boise State and the city of Boise entirely. He was loved at Hawks games and BSU games. RIP buddy,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“An absolute legend of the game. RIP, Kohl,” wrote former Idaho Statesman reporter Michael Katz, who wrote a feature about Kohl in 2017.
“Kohl was so special and one of a kind. What a legacy he has left behind in so many pups out there doing great things. The Rainbow Bridge must be having a parade for him today,” a Facebook commenter wrote.
This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 10:50 PM.
