Alton Brown is many things — chef, TV host, cinematographer, author, musician — but now he can add a new line to his resume: a self-styled “crazy dog guy.” The inspiration? His Boston terrier, Scaibgail, whom Brown and his wife, Elizabeth, adopted last year. And like many rescued pups, she’s got quite the story.
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“Scabigail was part of a rescue operation,” Brown, whose groundbreaking cooking show “Good Eats” returns to Food Network on August 25 after an extended hiatus, told The Daily Meal by phone. “The Atlanta Humane Society rescued 77 dogs from a hoarder who was horribly neglecting her. She was completely covered in mange, she had no hair, she was malnourished, she had a broken leg and she weighed 7 pounds.”
Both Alton and Elizabeth spotted Scabigail on the Humane Society’s Instagram page and, according to Brown, both had the same reaction independently: “That’s our next dog.”
Since rescuing her in May 2018, Scabigail has been “completely life-changing,” according to Brown. “She comes to New York and back to Atlanta with us, she came to the ‘Good Eats’ set every day, and she made me realize that what I want to do with whatever time I have left is adopt rescue dogs. They never forget.”
Scabigail has been nursed back to health and nearly all of her fur has grown back. If you tune in to “Good Eats: The Return,” she makes cameo appearances in several episodes, as well. Having the opportunity to help a dog heal and grow is just one of many reasons why rescue dogs always make better pets.
