At every home football game, NC State fans come out in droves to cheer on the players, but among the crowd is a very special member of the Wolfpack: a Tamaskan. His name is Tuffy II, and he joins his brother as a mascot this fall season.

The Tamaskan breed, chosen for its wolf-like appearance and obedience, has been NC State’s live mascot since 2010, when the original Tuffy was chosen and first started appearing at games. Prior to Tuffy, NC State used many different mascots including a mechanical wolf costume in 1946, a live timber wolf in 1947 and a second wolf in 1966 that turned out to be a coyote.

For the last six years, Tuffy has served as a symbol of NC State, but when Tuffy’s owners had an opportunity to purchase another Tamaskan, a second Tuffy was added to the Wolfpack.

“We expect that Tuffy II will participate alongside Tuffy throughout the course of this football season,” said Christopher Boyer, the deputy athletics director for external operations. “[The owners] had an opportunity to acquire another Tamaskan, and we thought the time was right to begin training.”

Boyer said there is currently no planned date to retire and replace the current Tuffy, who is 7 years old, which is about middle-aged for a dog his size. Boyer said that NC State will continue to use Tuffy as long as it is comfortable for him.

“When ultimately NC State and the owners of the current Tuffy agreed to have their Tamaskan participate as a live mascot on game day, they handled all of the necessary acclimations and training,” Boyer said. “And likewise, they’ve been handling all of the necessary animations and training with a professional trainer to prepare Tuffy II for this role.”

The owners of Tuffy and Tuffy II have their identities kept secret in order to protect their, and the dogs’, safety and well-being. However, the Technician was able to ask them several questions through the athletic department to find out how the dogs behave off the field.

“The Tamaskan breed is known for being clever, mischievous and hard to contain,” one of the owners said. “Tuffy has managed to escape many enclosures, stumping all who tried to contain him. We always warned everyone of his talent. They didn’t believe us until they found ‘Houdini’ on the other side with no evidence of his escape, other than a very happy Tamaskan.”

The owners said Tuffy is warming up to his new housemate and that training for Tuffy II started when he was 9 weeks old. Tuffy II undergoes training for 16 hours per week, and he will train for six months to improve his obedience and agility. He will also receive other specialized training to prepare him for the events he attends.

Boyer said the current agreement with the dogs’ owners consents that Tuffy, and now Tuffy II, appear on the sidelines at home football games. They also appear at bowl games if the bowl allows it and the travel is manageable. Tuffy has also been a regular attendee of Packapalooza and other football and men’s basketball events, such as Meet the Pack Day.

The owners said Tuffy’s training was completely different than Tuffy II’s. Tuffy was raised as a family pet but rose to the challenge when he became a mascot. He will continue to do so until he is too old, at which point Tuffy II will take up the mantle alone.

For more information about NC State’s mascot history, you can check out the mascots throughout the years.