Scrubs Dog Names

While most shows revel in their ability to employ dogs to delight audiences and provide a character nearly everyone can love, Scrubs took a completely different angle to achieve a similar result. Though the dog they used was never alive during the entirety of the show’s nine-season tenure (nor was the actual prop used), his popularity seemed unwavering, likely walking the line between odd, grotesque, endearing and outright humorous. We’re, of course, talking about Rowdy, the stuffed Golden Retriever. 

Rowdy’s beginnings are humble, as JD and Turk originally bought him from a yard sale, the previous owner admitting that he used to keep the stuffed dog in a box of old hats. He is portrayed as an actual stuffed dog, not a stuffed animal, which could easily be considered a bit morbid and is treated as such by both Elliot and Carla, who both openly admit that they wish he would disappear — which he eventually does, but more on that later. 

Out of the entire series, the use of Rowdy is actually one of the longest running gags, as JD and Turk both take great joy using him as part of their practical jokes. They often leave Rowdy in places where others don’t expect to find him, such as in Carla’s closet (as Turk explains, “to guard her shoes”) or in front of their neighbors’ doors. In turn, they also not only treat and refer to Rowdy as if he is still alive, but also imbue him with a distinct personality, one that is essentially and comically the opposite of a stuffed dog: excitable and vicious. Although he is never shown to be anything but stuffed, he does come to life in a dream of Turk’s when Rowdy is seen attacking Carla after she insults him. 

Each episode that Rowdy is featured in tends to reveal more and more about JD and Turk’s relationship to him, as well as his overall qualities. In one episode it is revealed that he can be used as a bottle opener. In another, viewers find out that Carla had him stuffed with potpourri. In another, Turk claims that Rowdy has hip dysplasia and JD confirms that it’s common in purebreds. 

Rowdy was so popular that at one point Zach Braff attempted to steal him from the set after the airing of the finale and was successful, but the famous stuffed dog was eventually returned to ABC since then. 

He remains the most famous and popular stuffed dog on television.