Pet-sonality Profile with Tito’s Handmade Vodka: Meet Darpan Mehta and Scotch

The Moodie Davitt Report is delighted to bring you the latest edition in our Pet-sonality Profile column, in association with Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

In this regular fun feature we discover more about travel retail pet-sonalities, their back stories, traits and habits, as well as offering some insights into their owners. Each pet-sonality will also be painted digitally by pets and equine artist Sami Moodie.

In this edition, Darpan Mehta, the Mumbai-based Travel Food Services* Vice President Business Development, introduces us to a particularly rare Scotch.

Introducing Scotch and Darpan

Name + nickname (if relevant): His name is Scotch but out of love sometimes we do call him Scotchu or Scotchula.

Breed: American Cocker Spaniel.

How old is Scotch? 4 1/2 years old.

How did you meet? My wife, daughter, sister in-law and I learnt about him through a family friend and adopted him from an animal shelter. Sadly, Scotch had been mistreated and tortured before we rescued him when he was one year old.

Love at first sight? Yes 100%. We saw him at the shelter and within ten minutes we were ready to take him home. We wasted no time in adopting him; it was definitely love at first sight.

Traumatised as a pup but loved since finding his new owners, Scotch is no longer on the rocks

Quirky habits? Scotch has this cute habit of raising his paw at you when he sees you eating something he likes. And, of course, the puppy dog eyes are always there to back up that up. And who can resist him them?

Funniest and/or nicest moment? Scotch has a very strict internal clock. So he will come in every  morning and stand nose to nose in front of your face, waiting for you to wake up. The moment you do, he takes these huge jumps telling you that he wants to go out. Then, very obviously, it’s time to get up and he makes sure you do that!

A limited-edition Scotch that comes with many expressions

Favourite trick? And treat? I would say his favourite trick is handshake and high five. He will keep doing it relentlessly until you give him a treat. His favourite? A well-buttered slice of bread.

Social media accounts? No, not that we are aware of.

If Scotch could talk, what would his first words be? Definitely something to do with food. Probably I want more buttered bread and just let me sleep.

Favourite airport/airline? Scotch isn’t a traveller so hasn’t been on an aircraft… yet.

Scotch may not be a flyer yet but he is obviously an animated back-seat driver

Anything else we should know? When he came to our house he was greatly traumatised and needed quite a few behavioural training sessions. During the first days, Scotch would clamp onto our feet and not let go; we understood that he had been through a lot.

Scotch is now the darling of the house.

*Travel Food Services is India’s leading travel food & retail company. Its mission is to provide travellers with the highest-quality food & beverage experiences while promoting a strong people and value-focused culture. Further details are available here.

Previously on Pet-sonality Profile

Meet Dügme and Peter Marshall

Meet Taxi and Antoine Bona

A special moment for the Bona family: Just don’t call out for Taxi if there’s traffic around.

Meet Duke and Lindsay Hitzeroth

Love at first sight: Duke has been the apple of Lindsay’s eye for ten years

Meet Hannah and Frank Pieper

Pawsing for a break from work: Hannah with Martin Enk-Pieper (left) and Frank Pieper

Meet Barry Geoghegan, Milly and Jess

Milly and Jess at home with the Geoghegans

*If you would like to feature (with your pet) in a forthcoming edition of this regular column, please contact Dermot Davitt at Dermot@MoodieDavittReport.com or Martin Moodie at Martin@MoodieDavittReport.com

**Click here for our introductory story on the Duty Free Unleashed partnership with Tito’s Handmade Vodka. The independent vodka brand from Austin, Texas has had a close connection with the welfare of dogs since its founding by Bert ‘Tito’ Beveridge in 1997. The company has always been committed to rescuing and protecting the animals that have come into the lives of its people, and has even created a programme, Vodka for Dog People, to help that come to life.

*** The Moodie Davitt Report is creating a digital artwork of every pet featured to be shared with every industry pet owner who participates.

Broken Biscuits is a world first disabled animal centre that readers are encouraged to support

Note: Through this new column, Tito’s Handmade Vodka and The Moodie Davitt Report are partnering to promote the work of brokenbiscuits.org, a disabled animal charity. As the world’s first disabled animal centre, its work includes:

  • Providing equipment to families
  • Offering homes to paraplegic, deaf, blind and disabled animals
  • An education programme of visiting schools and universities
  • Working alongside rescue centre, rehabbers and veterinary professionals
  • Caring for stray and surrendered disabled animals

To support the work of Broken Biscuits, you can donate via this link or find out more via the youtube channel.

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