The Buffalo Sabres have a new furry face around the rink this season, and he comes with a name that ties together two of the city's most beloved sports legacies. Ralph, an 8-month-old Samoyed, has been introduced as the team's official dog for the 2026-27 season, following in the paw prints of past pups who've captured the hearts of Sabres fans.
Ralph was named after Ralph Wilson, the original owner of the Buffalo Bills and a World War II veteran, according to a report from NHL.com. The name was reportedly inspired by a conversation between Mary Wilson and Chris Krieger, founder of Pawsitive for Heroes, the organization that will train Ralph. Krieger said the name honors Wilson and links two beloved Buffalo teams while celebrating service, generosity and community dedication, per the same account.
A Program Built on Service and Second Chances
Ralph will train to become a service dog for a local veteran through Pawsitive for Heroes, a program run by WNY Heroes, according to the report. The program's dogs are trained at a local correctional facility, an arrangement designed to give inmates, including incarcerated veterans, a skill they can use after release, the outlet notes.
Pawsitive for Heroes says on its own site that dogs reside at the facility with inmates for 10 months, where most of their training takes place, according to WNY Heroes. From there, the dogs go on to six to eight months of additional training alongside the veteran they'll eventually be paired with. WNY Heroes states that the program provides service dogs to veterans who are in medical need and have been referred through VA hospitals.
The organization's own materials don't agree on exactly when the program began. WNY Heroes says it launched Pawsitive for Heroes in 2013, while the Pawsitive for Heroes website states the launch came in 2014.
Sixth Year of a Growing Tradition
Ralph becomes the latest addition to what the Sabres describe as their team dog program's sixth year. The initiative has become something of a fixture at the arena, pairing a rotating cast of puppies with a cause that extends well beyond game nights.
The Sabres' 2024-25 team dog, Audie, offers a glimpse of where Ralph's journey could lead. Audie, identified by WKBW as a 10-week-old Great Dane during the 2024-2025 hockey season, went on to graduate from the Pawsitive for Heroes program on Aug. 18 and entered the service of Marine Corps veteran Chad DuFrane, according to NHL.com's earlier reporting. Audie had trained with inmates at Niagara County Correctional Facility before moving in with her new owner for good, the same report states.
Pawsitive for Heroes has said its program has funded service-dog training for the past three Sabres team dogs, pairing the animals with veterans in need once their training concludes. For now, Ralph's own path through that process is just beginning, with his name alone already carrying forward a piece of Buffalo sports history onto the Sabres' bench.
