Smelly Newsroom Dog Applies at Opera

By CRYSTAL K. WIEBE

Click on the photo for a slide show from the doggie auditions.

Yesterday, the Lyric Opera held doggie auditions for a role in its production of La Boheme. Although the French script specifically calls for a poodle, the Lyric opened tryouts to any “beautiful toy dog.” As the owner of a miniature pinscher named Scooby, I sensed an opportunity.

But considering that Scooby — The Pitch newsroom’s unofficial mascot — is a smelly old grump who knows few commands, I figured the opportunity would be for humor.

The audition forms called for dogs that knew basic obedience. Scooby’s a leader-of-the-pack kind of guy. He runs out to the end of his leash on walks, and he’ll only sit if he’s certain there’s a snack involved.

He does know one sentence pretty well. Ask him, “Scooby, are you hungry?” and he turns into a maniac, jumping and huffing and gnawing at your arm. He even once ate a chunk of ham as big as your fist. But I was pretty sure the Opera wouldn’t be impressed by this trick.