I'm getting a dog!!

I'd been idly thinking about it for a while recently--but not really seriously considering it. After the Suspicious Car incident I started thinking a bit harder about it, but still kept it in the arena of "interesting idea but probably will never go through with it." But then I told a friend at work that I was thinking of getting a dog, and he came back immediately with: "Want a Rottweiler? Free?" Apparantly someone had abandoned this dog near his home, so his wife took the dog into work (as fate would have it, she works at an animal hospital,) made sure she (the dog) was up on all of her shots and arranged to have her spayed while they tried to find her a home.

So now there was an actual dog for me to think about adopting. I've never owned a dog before (I've always been strictly a cat person) so it was a bit of a daunting prospect. There would surely be advantages, but it could also be a serious pain in the ass at times. But last night at work I decided I'd at least go and see what this dog was like. Jim had assured me that she was very sweet-tempered, though rather large. What the hell. I got directions to the clinic and after I got off of work this morning, still in my power suit and heels, went to see the dog. And wow. She's a beautiful dog; they figure she's actually a Doberman/Rottweiler mix, and she's managed to get the best of both breeds, at least as far as looks go. She doesn't have the harsh pointy nose like a doberman, nor the pushed-in pug face of a rottie. Not to mention the fact that she has a wonderful disposition.

And basically I fell immediately in love with her. The entire drive home I kept thinking about having that dog all the time. As soon as I got home I called Jim's wife at the clinic and told her I wanted the dog. She (the dog) is being spayed now, so I won't get her for about a week--which works perfectly for me since I have to get ready to have an enormous dog living with me. I expect the dog will stay outside most of the time, but I really do have the perfect yard for a dog. The previous owners had dogs, and there's even a fenced in kennel behind the garage. I want to pour concrete in there, and of course get a dog house, and also make sure the fence around the rest of the yard is secure, and by that time she should be ready to come home with me.

I'm really just thoroughly excited about this. I feel like I'm twelve years old. "I'm getting a dog!!"

But now, Oh Gentle Readers, I need your help. She needs a name. The folks at the clinic have just been calling her "Sweetie" for lack of anything better to call her.

But she needs a better name than that. She's a big dog, and she needs some sort of strong, powerful, yet female name. So, I'm throwing it open to you all. Email me suggestions, and I'll post the top ten or so and let you all vote on them. (Sorry, Tamela... I decided against "WarBitch." ;-) ) I'd of course like it if the name has some sort of significance, either in mythology, literature, history, or whatever.

And no, I don't have a picture of her yet. I had not counted on falling for the dog when I went to see her, so brought no camera. But I'll try and get one of her on Thursday.