Daisy Davis
Boomer & Krysta
When Paul arrived at the
Center, 10 years ago, there was already a canine greeter. “Roscoe was found roam-
ing the property as a stray. Who knows how long he had been on his own?” said Paul. From the moment Turtle
Bob first laid eyes on Roscoe the two were inseparable, together surveying the property from sunup to sundown. Turtle Bob has an absolute love of nature and a respectable knowl- edge of reptiles. He taught Roscoe how to sniff out certain animals as they walked the trails, including venomous snakes. “Roscoe had been bitten
twice on the nose by venomous snake, doing his job of warning Turtle Bob of their presence,” said Paul. “His face grew twice its size. Luckily, we have a place that has antivenin on hand. You’d think Roscoe would have become gun-shy about sticking his nose in places where critters might be hiding, but not Roscoe. He was always ready to go to work with Turtle Bob.” Roscoe was endeared by
the school children and became a legend. When Turtle Bob was teaching, Roscoe knew his place in the classroom so as not to be a distraction to the stu- dents. But when class was over, Roscoe was right there inter- acting with the children. He loved letting them lay on him. “I worked with Roscoe for
seven years,” said Paul. “He died three years ago, and the thing that got me was the broad reach
www.TheNewBarker.com
Roscoe had in the community. The outpouring of condolences to Turtle Bob was amazing. Kids who had come to the Center years before as elementary kids were sending handwritten notes as teenagers to Turtle Bob.” Roscoe’s bed remained
inside Turtle Bob's office. “Just an empty bed,” said Paul. “He didn’t get another dog for quite some time.” It’s been said often that
dogs pick us, not the other way around. Einstein also emerged from the woods as another stray. He and Turtle Bob are now a working duo around the Plantation. Einstein is not a replacement for Roscoe. That’s not possible. But, he certainly has his own personality and is picking up being a naturalist like Turtle Bob pretty well. “Where Roscoe couldn’t
wait to meet and greet the kids as they were coming off the school buses, Einstein sits cau- tiously behind a fence, observ- ing,” said Paul. When the children have
gone off to classrooms, the museum or on the trails, Einstein returns to Turtle Bob’s office waiting for what’s next on the day’s agenda. One thing in particular that Einstein enjoys is greeting staff members each day. He personally escorts each of them to their respective offices before returning to the front door to greet and escort the next staffer. It’s all in a day’s work for a
naturally good dog.U THE NEW BARKER 61
I’m hoping that we’re capable of leaving some huge biological warehouses so
“
that if and when our country fails, and all of them
do sooner or later, that hopefully the impacts wouldn’t be total. That nature just
doesn’t have to start from scratch. M.C. Davis to an
NPR reporter in 2015 The E.O. Wilson Biophilia
”
Center relies on membership dollars and philanthropic sup- port to fund its educational programing. For more information, please visit
www.eowilsoncenter.org
Larry
Mia & Laura; Einstein & Bob Holly Belle Truman
Aries
Beau
HayDuke
Walker Texas Ranger
Spice & Paul Bonnie
Maya & Bob
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