Rub a Paw and Get Lucky

You may be seeing double at Quinnipiac and your luck just might double.

There will soon be another 8-foot-tall bobcat greeting you.  Legend has it, if you rub one of the twin cat's paws luck will come your way.

The newest version of the mascot -- and namesake of all its Division I athletic teams -- now greets people on Bobcat Way on the Mount Carmel Campus.

The Bobcat’s twin greets visitors at the TD Banknorth Sports Center on Quinnipiac’s York Hill Campus.

Unlike the ferocious felines you find in nature, you can touch this one. You are actually invited to. No really, they want you to. Rubbing the bobcat`s paw is supposed to bring good luck.

Quinnipiac students devised a legend that pairs the ancient Native American spirit Hobbamock -- whom the nearby Sleeping Giant mountain is said to represent -- with a ferocious bobcat who was spared the sleeping curse and now watches over the University.
 
The man behind the cat is Montana wildlife sculptor J.C. Dye, a Western artisan whose work is exhibited in galleries, museums and on public land, created the metallic feline.
 
Quinnipiac President John Lahey and university benefactors Herbert Pearce and Martha Wood saw Dye`s work in an art gallery in Scottsdale, Ariz.
 
"J.C. Dye has not only captured the natural beauty of the bobcat, but everything it represents to Quinnipiac as its mascot. Our bobcat is a symbol of pride, strength, honor and intelligence," Lynn Bushnell, vice president for public affairs. "All those qualities shine through beautifully in J.C.`s handsome sculpture. We are so very fortunate to welcome it as a permanent part of our University landscape."

Dye spent five months creating the bobcat monument. The inspiration was real-live bobcats at a nature preserve. Now those are paws you would probably not want to pet.

Do you have a photo for a Connecticut mascot? Send it to us at isee@nbcconnecticut.com.

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