First Scout Walz Bobblehead with a Cause Unveiled

MILWAUKEE – This morning, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled the first bobblehead of Scout Walz, the black Labrador retriever mix owned by the family of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who was chosen by Vice President Kamala Harris as her running mate on the Democratic ticket in the 2024 United States presidential election. The Scout Walz Bobblehead is being produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum and joins the recently released bobblehead of Tim Walz, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, and JD Vance. The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum will be donating 10% of all sales of the Scout Walz Bobblehead to Midwest Animal Rescue & Services which is where the Walz family adopted Scout from.

Sitting on a circular red and white base bearing his name, the bobblehead of Scout has his mouth open and tongue exposed in a sporty pose. A bobblehead replica of the First Dog of Minnesota, the bobblehead of the black lab mix showcases the Frisbee-loving gentle giant’s devotion, playfulness, and good nature.

The bobbleheads, which are individually numbered to 2,024, are only available through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s Online Store. Expected to ship in January, the bobbleheads cost $30 each, plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order.

On November 6th, 2018, Minnesota elected Tim Walz as the state’s 41st Governor. That meant that he had to fulfill a campaign promise to his son, Gus, who exclaimed, “I get a dog!” when the race was called for his father. During a news conference on Thursday, September 5th, 2019, Governor Walz introduced Minnesotans to their First Puppy: a three-month-old black Labrador retriever mix named Scout. The dog, the first for the Walz family who lives at the Governor’s Mansion in St. Paul, was adopted the previous week from Midwest Animal Rescue & Services.

A recue dog, Scout was abandoned at 11 weeks old with his nine littermates on the side of a rural road in Oklahoma. Some of the dogs had gotten stuck in a ravine before a rainstorm, and a woman and her son discovered them and was able to coax them out to safety before the area flooded. Minnesota-based Midwest Animal Rescue & Services took the litter in and gave them names. “I’m proud that Minnesota’s First Dog is a rescue dog, and I hope Scout – who has been a very good boy – serves as a reminder for Minnesotans that there are a lot of pups waiting to be adopted,” Governor Walz said at the time.

Scout has found himself in the news in recent months. On October 23rd, 2023, Scout somehow managed to accidentally lock himself into a bedroom in the family home. “There is no key,” Gwen Walz texted her husband. The governor screenshotted the conversation and posted it to X. Once workers were able to get through the window and unlock the door, the governor posted an adorable photo of Scout peeking through an open door. “Free at last!” he wrote. In late-August, Scout was involved in a gotcha moment gone wrong. A user on X tried to claim that Walz was lying about owning a dog named Scout when he was caught in a “lie” identifying two different dogs as Scout. However, the original post featuring the second dog did not identify that dog as Scout and the video posted by Walz showed the second dog was one of several Walz encountered at a dog park where Scout was also present. One X user responded: “Case solved: there are other dogs at the dog park besides Scout.”

“We’re excited to unveil the first bobblehead of Scout Walz, the First Dog of Minnesota,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “Already popular among Minnesotans, Scout has now added countless more people across the country to his growing fan club. We think Minnesotans and others who have become familiar with Governor Walz and Scout are going to love this new bobblehead!”

About the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum:
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, which is located at 170 S. 1^st. St. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, opened to the public on February 1^st, 2019. The HOF and Museum also produces high quality, customized bobbleheads for retail sale as well as organizations, individuals and teams across the country. Visit us online and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.