SURPRISE, Ariz. -- One of our periodic blog entries are camp chats, where we talk with a Rangers player about various topics. Today's chat is Darren O'Day, who recently rescued a dog.

Q: Why did you get a dog?

A: I've always wanted a dog my whole life. Every Christmas I would ask my parents for a dog and nothing else. And I would never get a dog. So every Christmas morning, I would be disappointed. I wanted to be a vet when I grew up. I loved animals. So the first opportunity I had, I got a dog.

Q: Why didn't you ever get a dog when you were growing up?

A: My mom is allergic to them. I would ask anyway. Brandon McCarthy is allergic to dogs and he has two of them in his house.

Q: Why did you choose this dog?

A: She's an eight-month-old lab-terrier mix. It was a rescue dog and the only dog we saw at this animal shelter that we could take home. A lot of them were fighting dogs or pit bulls that barked at you. Her name is Allie.

Q: So you wanted to be a vet growing up, but you didn't have a dog. Did your friends have dogs?

A: Some did. I just liked animals. We had a cat when I was in high school and that's about it. I had a bird. A cockatiel and it hated me.

Q: Why did it hate you?

A: Because when I was little, we had Cheerios for breakfast. The bird would try to eat my Cheerios and I was a fat, little kid and I wanted my Cheerios, so I pushed him away. He would sit on my shoulder and bite my ear and harrass me. I had to clean his cage every two weeks. Birds make a lot of noise.

Q: Where is the dog staying now?

A: She's with Brandon McCarthy's fiancee. She's taking her hiking and is a great babysitter.

Q: Do you want to get another dog?

A: I do. I've seen my dog play with Brandon's dog. They are best friends. They don't leave each other for anything. It would be great for my dog to have someone to play with like that. But it's not going to work right now. When we got the dog, the plan was my fiancee to live with me. But she got a job with Fox News in Atlanta. So I'll have to make it work in Dallas because she travels more than I do.