“And so I just felt really lucky that it worked out like that for us.” “There’s a limited number of classes where they’re gonna be at Butler like during the transition period ,” Essig said. Many students said they were sad to hear that Trip would be retiring, but at the same time, the prospect of having a puppy on campus was exciting.Īmy Essig, a sophomore communication sciences and disorders major, said that when Blue was introduced to Butler last January, the energy on campus was “electric.” “He’s 15 months old and he’s doing stuff that three-year-old dogs sometimes struggle with, so that’s the biggest takeaway is that I’m just proud of his progress.”įor students, the opportunity to be at Butler when a new mascot was debuted was a unique one Trip became Butler’s mascot in 2013, serving as the live mascot for eight years. “Being able to experience Blue’s growth from being that 16-pound fluffball that I held up to the crowd to every week… and just starting to nail his responsibilities and loving it just, you find yourself being really proud of him,” Krauss said. Looking back on the past year, Krauss described bringing the English bulldog home as “a dream come true.” Since that time, Blue has grown from a tiny, wrinkly puppy into a full-grown dog - and a much-loved mascot.Įvan Krauss, Blue’s “dad,” is a senior marketing manager at Butler. At that time, Blue was only 13 weeks old, and had been brought home by his handler, Evan Krauss, less than one week before.

22, 2020, just over one year ago, Butler Blue IV was introduced to the Butler community as the new university mascot. Photo courtesy of Evan Krauss.ĪNNIE FAULKNER | ASST. Butler Blue IV was debuted as the new mascot last January.

Butler university mascot handler salary