Celebrating Scooby Doo

Ruh Roh! Scooby Doo Day is September 13^th! The cartoon canine has been charming us since 1968, and has no intention of stopping anytime soon. A local vet turns the spotlight on the furry, four-legged sleuth in this article from Fairfield Animal Hospital, your Cypress, TX pet hospital.

Scooby Doo’s History

Today, Scooby Doo is a household name and a pop culture icon, but the pup wasn’t exactly an overnight success. Actually, Scooby and the gang went through a few false starts before getting their van in gear. The show was originally titled The Mysteries Five, and started out as a horror/mystery series. The original cast? Teens Geoff, Mike, Kelly, Linda, and Linda’s brother W.W. At that point, Scooby—who played bongos and was called Too Much—acted more like a typical dog than the goofy scaredy-pup we’ve all come to know and love. Show execs felt that the original concept was a bit too dark for kids, and lightened it up into a comedy.

Where Did Scooby Doo Get His Name?

We mentioned above that Scooby was originally called Too Much. So how did he become Scooby Doo? Legend has it that the pooch got his name from a doo-be-doo-be-doo bit in Frank Sinatra’s Strangers in The Night. However, the 1953 movie Swingin Together featured a character named Skooby Doo. The Archies’ song Feelin’ So Good (S.K.O.O.B.Y.-D.O.O.) also used the phrase.

What Celebrities Have Been On Scooby Doo?

The list of stars who have made appearances is pretty impressive: it includes Dick Van Dyke, Phyllis Diller, Sonny and Cher, Don Knotts, Mama Cass Elliot, and the Harlem Globetrotters!

What Kind Of Dog Is Scooby Doo?

The cartoon canine is actually a Great Dane … with a twist. Iwao Takamoto, the show creator, consulted a professional Great Dane breeder before drawing the pooch. Once armed with a list of breed standards and desired traits, he deliberately gave the pooch the opposite traits. Even Scooby’s coloring is wrong!

Scooby Doo Shows

Scooby and the gang have followed clues from various networks and show formats. They started out on CBS. Scooby-Doo, Where are you! debuted September 13, 1969. It moved to ABC in 1976,  as The Scooby-Doo Show and Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics. Various versions have also appeared on CW, WB, Cartoon Network, and, most recently, HBO.

Do you have a Great Dane with a penchant for unmasking villains? Contact us here at Fairfield Animal Hospital, your Cypress, TX pet hospital, anytime!