BY KRIS WHEATON | AUGUST 4, 2010
Meet Mr. Personality
SCOTTSDALE – Out at Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center in Scottsdale, where fashion is everything, one fashion icon stands out- Scrappy the dog. Yes, you read it right. Scrappy the dog. Only a dog with plenty of self confidence could pull off some of the outfits he wears. No bones about it, this is a dog with attitude.
Scrappy is our Official Greeter, part time Tour Guide and full time Beggar. We think he's somewhere around 14 years old. He was already an adult dog when he was taken from an abusive owner by a family member and brought to Southwest Wildlife for care. He and Marco, who has worked at Southwest for years, developed a close bond. They made it official when Scrappy moved in with Marco and his family. Scrappy clocks out every evening and returns to Southwest Wildlife each morning to assume his duties. His beginnings were a little sad, but you'd never know it from his delightful personality.
In his position as Official Greeter, Scrappy the dog makes an effort to meet each and every visitor to our facility (unless it's too hot or it's nap time). He believes that everyone needs to meet him because he's Scrappy and because he needs to check each visitor for any meat-like substances.
It's impossible to walk around the Southwest Wildlife property without sharing whatever you have that's edible with Scrappy. He begs, you explain that he won't like it because it doesn't have any meat in it, he begs some more, you give in and share, and he promptly spits it out. It didn't have any meat in it. You tried to tell him!
He looks at you like you've been speaking Greek, but he's not fooling anyone. No matter the language, he understands what he wants to. He also has selective hearing. Scrappy can hear and obey a male voice, but for some reason can't hear a woman very well. Okay, maybe he believes that males are superior to females just a little bit, but he also believes that dogs are superior to all other animals. It follows, therefore, that one male dog in particular is superior to all beings – guess who?
Scrappy may be the most photographed animal at Southwest Wildlife and is certainly the most popular.
