New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez is often hounded by the press, but at a ceremony to honor a bomb-sniffing Marine dog named Rex and his handler, it was the dog who hounded A-Rod.

During a pre-game ceremony at Yankee Stadium, A-Rod tried to present Rex’s handler, former Marine Megan Leavey, a Tiffany charm with the dog’s name engraved on it, but the recently retired military dog jumped in front of Leavey as the ballplayer approached.

A startled A-Rod jumped back, then carefully skirted Rex to hand the gift to Leavey. A-Rod laughed off the incident, and was able to give Rex a pat on the head. According to Yahoo Sports the New York Yankee is a dog lover and once owned a German Shepherd.

Yankees president Randy Levine helped Leavey in her efforts to adopt the 10-year-old Rex, who she served with in Iraq.