Inside The Huskies

End of an Era as Retired UW Mascot Dubs Passes Over the Weekend

The beloved canine served the athletic department for a decade.

Dan Raley

Dubs I, an Alaskan Malamute and the University of Washington's beloved canine mascot in 2009-19, died over the weekend, bringing an outpouring of condolences and remembrances from alums and fans.

The overly furry breed of dog has been a unique symbol for UW athletics since 1923, when a student committee voted to replace the somewhat abstract Sun Dodgers with Huskies as the team nickname.

Dubs I, cared for by a Seattle-area family, lived to be 12, from November 15, 2008 to April 3, 2021. The mascot retired two years ago and was the 13th in the series of dogs used to represent the university.

Not by choice, this mascot was born near the end of the worst UW football season  (0-12) in program history. It left the team in much better shape than it found it.

The UW team is now represented by Dubs II, which was born in 2018 but hasn't had a lot of Husky Stadium interaction because of the ongoing pandemic. The accompanying video, however, is of Dubs II.

Dubs typically runs onto the field on game day with a handler, alongside the players coming out of the tunnel. The dog often can be seen lying not far from the action and basking in the sunshine while the games are underway.

As shown in the accompanying video taken during the 2019 season, the UW also has a costumed human mascot named "Harry the Husky," who often interacts with his canine counterpart. 

Dubs is a fan favorite who sits for plenty of photo ops, shows up for all sorts of university activities, mixes with fans and even shows up for huge events such as the Rose Bowl.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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