This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Four-Legged Steelers Fans Dress for Success

Richland dogs wear "lucky" jerseys.

Steelers’ fans everywhere are donning their black and gold, and Hans and Fritz Fahrney are no exception. But while most Steelers fans are the two-legged kind, Hans and Fritz are of the four-legged variety.

The 15-year-old miniature dachshunds belong to Lee and Terry Fahrney of Richland Township, and they love wearing their Steelers jerseys. Truth be told, though, it may be because they feel “all snuggly” in them, according to Lee.

“They do love to wear them though,” she said.

Find out what's happening in Pine-Richlandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 The dogs were coincidently born on Jan. 12, 1996 – the year the Steelers went to the Super Bowl and lost. Maybe that was because the two-week old puppies didn’t have their good-luck gear on.

When the Steelers made it to the big game again in 2006, the dogs were ready.

Find out what's happening in Pine-Richlandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“I made them little T-shirts out of baby onesies and wrote #12 on one for Fritz and #57 for Hans....get it, Hans 57,” joked Lee.

The Steelers won the Super Bowl that year.

The next Super Bowl go-around for the Steelers was in 2009 and this time, Terry’s sister, Dawn Frye of Richland, made the boys matching Steelers shirts (as in the photos).

“She made them that morning, then brought them down for our Steelers party,” said Lee.

The Steelers won the Super Bowl again.

Dawn also made the twin dogs a Steelers blanket that they love to sleep on, according to Lee, who also made the pups a blanket.

Lee said they often host the family play-off games, especially since Terry sold off his season tickets last year.

The dogs do get nervous when guests jump around and scream and will even add their barking to the noise. 

“Hans will roam around. He must get too nervous to watch the game,” she said. “Fritz has to be on my lap.”

Lee, who grew up in Sharon, PA, has been a Steelers fan her whole life.

“Up there it is divided between the Browns and the Steelers, but we have always been for the Steelers,” she said. Terry is originally from the North Hills and is a lifelong fan.

The human side of the Fahrney family also has game-day gear. Lee has several T-shirts that he wears.

“As long as he is wearing yellow, he is happy,” said Lee.

Right now, according to Lee, the boys are resting for the big game on Sunday. At only 12 pounds each, they probably wouldn’t see much playing time, but they will be dressed for the event.

“Oh, of course," she said, "they will have their jerseys on.”

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Pine-Richland