Village News - Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

He’s a man as well as man’s best friend.

As the Lake Elsinore Storm’s furry, green mascot Thunder, Patrick Gardenier, 28, barks, sniffs, and lifts his shaggy dog ears as he mingles with baseball fans on and off the field.

“People get surprised when they hear Thunder make noises,” the Menifee resident said in a recent phone interview, basing his comment on how most mascots are usually silent when they work.

Gardenier’s bread and butter is his slapstick humor which is executed through over-the-top physical maneuvers.

Who is the man inside the suit?

Well, Gardenier grew up in...