BOSTON -- The Cavaliers are thinking of getting a dog.

You may have heard the story of Remington, the expertly trained facility dog who works with the University of North Carolina's baseball team and was brought to the Cavs' hotel before a game in Charlotte in March.

Well, several of the players (most notably JR Smith and Kevin Love, who says he's going to get a dog -- a golden retriever, no less, just like Remington) hit it off with the 3 year old, and the Cavs have since flown Remington and his master from Raleigh, North Carolina to Cleveland for multiple playoff games this season.

Remington's last trip to The Q was for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, a 111-102 win for the Cavs. He hung out in the Cavs' family reception area before the game, but will not be in Boston for Game 5 tonight. The UNC baseball team is playing in the ACC Tournament.

When the Cavs want to see Remington, they book a commercial flight (Delta, Frontier one time) for him and his master, UNC baseball trainer Terri Jo Rucinski. The dog is of course highly trained with more than 100 commands and doesn't make a peep on the flights.

Remington isn't for everyone -- LeBron James, for instance, said he doesn't visit with him and coach Tyronn Lue says he's not much of a dog guy -- but enough players have taken to the dog that it's worth the airfare.

"Every time I see him I smile, I have a good time," Smith said. "Just playing with him and understanding that it's a, I don't know, it's different. We were talking about getting one as a team and he's just very beneficial. I think he brings a smile to a lot of people's faces."

Exposing the players to a therapy dog was Cavs trainer Steve Spiro's idea. He knew of Remington's impact with North Carolina's players as a stress reliever and had a hunch this could work in Cleveland.

The first time Smith met Remington, before the Hornets game on March 28, he responded with 19 points off the bench on 8-of-9 shooting. He was 3-of-9 shooting in Game 4 on Monday against the Celtics, but all of his baskets were 3-pointers.

The Cavs aren't going to get Remington full time, he has a job at North Carolina. But they are greatly considering acquiring one as early as next season.

The dogs are trained by paws4people, a nonprofit organization established in 2005. Remington is worth $60,000, but that's not what the Cavs would pay for a service dog. If the Cavs' application were approved and they passed a vetting process, there would likely be some sort of donation or fundraiser from the Cavs for paws4people.

There are still some questions to be answered and details to be ironed out before the Cavs walk down this path. Mostly, would it be worth the dog's time (which could go to another client of paws4people) to be around a basketball team every day? If the novelty of having the dog around were to wear off, now the Cavs have an expensive, highly trained animal that could be helping a sick child or soldier back from war, being ignored in the corner.

Then again, Love and Smith could both be with the Cavs for two more seasons, depending on their various contract options. And they like Remington. A lot.

"I want a dog, and a golden retriever too, but I'm not going to pay $50,000 for one," Love said. "He's not even a dog -- he's like a robot. You tell him what to do and he does it. It's incredible."