It’s as if Marmaduke knows that Arizona Department of Transportation, the city, and the Sedona Chamber of Commerce have tried to encourage people to have patience and positive attitudes during the lengthy Hwy. 179 Improvement Project.

It’s a labor of love that the year-and-a-half-old pup takes seriously, according to Mr. Miller, a Cottonwood resident and quality assurance inspector for ADOT subcontractor Western Technologies Inc.

Mr. Miller and fiancée Tami Green found Marmaduke at an animal shelter a few months after Ms. Green’s previous dog passed away. They were looking for a Labrador-type dog, and already had the name picked out.

“His face just fit the name,” Mr. Miller said.

Mr. Miller wanted a dog he could take on the job. Marmaduke was a natural, often ready to go to work before his proud papa.

“He’s waiting at the door every morning – waiting for the words, ‘Let’s go,’” Mr. Miller said.

Except for the occasional ball-chasing romp through a parking lot, Marmaduke mostly stays in the air-conditioned cab, with a bowl full of water and a cushy blanket for break time and power naps.

Otherwise, Marmaduke dons his sexy sunglasses and wags a happy tongue as the project’s unofficial mascot.

Usually he wears a custom-fit orange safety vest just like the rest of the crew; although not when the Arizona sun beats down at 100 degrees. He wore a Santa hat during the past Christmas season.

Sometimes tourists stop to meet Marmaduke, offering chew toys and posing for pictures.

“I think it takes people’s mind off of being in traffic. You see it put a smile on their face. They’re not thinking about being in traffic,” Mr. Miller said.
 

Marmaduke never barks, so one day when he barked at some people walking through the construction site, he alerted the crew to a potential safety problem. “I think it was because they didn’t have safety vests and hard hats on,” Mr. Miller said.

Marmaduke also rations out generous portions of doggy kisses to the sweaty tanned faces of construction crews whose lunch breaks often consist of a sandwich in one hand and a gear shift in the other.

“These people work through lunch; they don’t take breaks,” Mr. Miller said.

When the public sees idle crews, it is usually because the schedule is so tight, they are staged to begin a new task as the previous task is completed, he said.

This week workers will divide into two crews and begin six straight weeks of working 10-hour shifts, seven days per week.

“We’re all under a bunch of stress just to get this thing done and everyone knows that traffic is the main issue,” Mr. Miller said. “We have to work with the traffic also.”
 

MARMADUKE sends some doggy love to Kim Gomez, who is compacting sub-grade before the new curb is poured for the Brewer Road roundabout

So, while Marmaduke’s career began as companionship for Mr. Miller, he has become something of a good will ambassador for those willing to accept his small-town canine charm.

“It just became special because he’s such a special dog,” Mr. Miller said.

© 2008 Cyndy Hardy. This article may not be reproduced, republished or distributed without written permission from the author. Contact the author at cyndyhardy@msn.com.



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