SCP-652

Item #: SCP-652

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-652 is to be kept in standard domestic-animal facilities. The room requires basic furnishings for SCP-652 and its handler – bedding, food, water and so on. SCP-652 and its handler are permitted to roam the facility grounds at will.

Personnel who come in contact with SCP-652 are not permitted to wear heavy boots: SCP-652 is badly frightened by such boots, and by anyone wearing them. For the same reason, personnel who come in contact with SCP-652 are not permitted to grow beards.

SCP-652's vocalizations are to be recorded and preserved for analysis; special note is to be taken of any mentions of the phrases "ash cloud", "hurricane", and/or "radiation".

Description: SCP-652 presents as a neutered male dog of the Basset Hound breed; bone growth analysis indicates that subject is approximately three (3) years old. Subject appears to be physically normal beyond four (4) significant abnormalities:

Subject has a tattoo on its belly in the shape of the Marshall, Carter and Dark logo. The tattoo was likely applied in the dog's infancy.

X-rays of the subject reveal several poorly-healed skull fractures and broken ribs, suggesting extreme physical abuse.

Subject's jaw muscles are well-developed, above that of a normal dog of this breed; however, bite force is in line with what is to be expected of a dog this size. This abnormality is likely to be a direct result of abnormality 4, below.

Subject's larynx is grossly distorted. X-ray examination shows significant diversion from expected size and shape. It is unclear whether this is the result of genetic engineering or of surgery. This distortion is believed to be linked to its behavioural anomaly.

SCP-652's behavioural anomaly is its ability to produce human speech instead of barking or other standard canine vocalizations. Subject constantly 'gibbers' phrases in at least thirty-four (34) human languages; although five (5) of the languages have not been identified yet, analysis of the other twenty-nine (29) languages (see document 652-G for list of identified languages) indicates that SCP-652 is constantly making meteorological predictions for various locations worldwide. These predictions have been found to be 100% accurate for those locations which have been able to be identified.

The predictions have no obvious connection with any external stimuli; while it can be assumed that SCP-652 is aware of its own behaviour, it does not appear to be under the subject's control. Quality and clarity of vocalization is dependent on SCP-652's physical condition: speech is muted and 'mumbled' while the subject is sleeping, garbled while the subject is eating or drinking, and agitated and staccato when the subject is excited or afraid. Subject's 'voice' is low in pitch, and has a rather limited vocal range; staff consistently refer to it as 'unsettling'.

While SCP-652's unusual larynx is the most obvious link to the subject's constant vocal activity, a basic knowledge of speech production tells us that simply changing an animal's larynx will not necessarily allow it to make sounds similar to human speech; indeed, comparative biology reveals that human and canid larynx structures are actually quite similar. SCP-652's larynx, on the other hand, appears to have no correlation to either.

History: SCP-652 was recovered during a raid on a Marshall, Carter and Dark office in █████████████. It was found in a shipping crate bearing the indications of having been recently delivered by the [REDACTED] national postal service, with an invalid return address. At the time of the raid, a Marshall, Carter and Dark operative was in the process of composing a letter regarding SCP-652; the operative died while resisting capture and the letter (Document 652-N41) was retrieved from her typewriter.

Document 652-G: List of identified languages spoken by SCP-652:

Albanian, Armenian, Basque, Bulgarian, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hausa, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Khmer, Lithuanian, Malagasy, Polish, Russian, Romanian, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Urdu, Vietnamese

Document 652-N41: Incomplete letter from Marshall, Carter and Dark operative [REDACTED] to [REDACTED], regarding SCP-652