Friday, April 8, 2016

Finding His Name

Adam is messaging with various people about various dogs, but the truth is that waiting to find a cheap dog from a random person within a 3-hour drive of one's home is a long endeavor. So this morning we visited the New Bern pound. And we found a new friend:

On the drive home, we discussed what his name is. Because he already has a name, we knew; we just had to discover what it is. So we bandied around different options. Buddy. Sebastian. (Julia prefers fancy names; we do not.) Scotty. I forget whether Adam or I first said the name Ned.

Ned

We all liked it fine. Julia volunteered, "I like Ned. It was the name of a dog in Brian Jacques's Flying Dutchman book, a dog that could talk!" She added, "His name was Denmark, but they took the first three letters, turned them around, and came up with Ned."

Denmark. Ned Denmark. It didn't sound right.
There's clearly some Great Dane in this boy,
so Denmark seemed like a logical choice.
Meanwhile the name Teddy is rumbling around in my head. "Teddy," I say. I ask Adam, "What is Ned short for?"

"Theodore."

"And that's where you get Teddy too, right?"

"Yeah."

"So ... Theodore Denmark."

Adam laughed. "But," he said, "Theodore What Denmark?"

"Theodore Roosevelt Denmark!" I exclaimed.

Julia groaned in pain in the back seat.

Then Adam said, "Theodore Roosevelt Denmark, the Moose!" (Because that president formed the Bull Moose Party. Random historical facts stick to his brain like noodles to a wall.)

And Adam and I looked at each other with surprise and glee and realized we'd just (finally) found the dog's name! His perfect name! Moose!

We'll still call him Ned, mostly because Julia will insist. She hates Moose for his name, but Moose it is and Moose it will be.

Right now Moose is taking a nap with Adam, who is a very happy man, in the office in the barn. At last he has a friend to do his farm work with and life can return to normal. Beau, I'm sorry to admit, is a miserable failure as a lone farm dog.
Two dogs is good, Three dogs would be better.

Moose discovers he's not allowed in the greenhouse.
And I'll add that the New Bern Pound is an excellent place with caring people and sweet dogs. We may go back there after Ned Moose settles in.

11 comments:

Sarah said...

Great! He's cute! My MIL has a dog named Mousse....as in chocolate Mousse :) I think it's so funny when she tries to explain his name to people, and they just think it's "Moose" because he is big and brown; and she tries to tell them it's different - like the chocolate dessert. Never mind that the words are homonyms - she still feels the need to differentiate!

gretchenjoanna said...

You make finding and having a dog seem the most natural and delightful thing. Even though I know that doesn't mean *easy*, that was the first word that came to my mind. I'm so glad about Moose. I bet he is awfully happy, too. From what I understand, dogs need their people even more than the people need them.

Pom Pom said...

Yay for a newcomer! Our Kelli named her German shepherd puppy Moose but she calls him Riv which is short for Trouble in River City.

Mary Ann Potter said...

Hooray! Moose is home! This is such happy news. Moose is a handsome guy. God created this boy just for y'all.

Gumbo Lily said...

Awww, that's a good boy, Moose!

happyone said...

So glad you have found Moose. He looks like a great dog. I think one syllable names are great for dogs.
Lucky Moose to have ended up at the farm. : )

Lisa Richards said...

Congratulations on the new member of your family! May you have many happy years together!

Una said...

Very happy for all of you. I'm sure Beau does his best and will benefit from his new pal.

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

I love your new dog's name, Moose. It makes one feel happy.

Have a lovely weekend with your new canine farm helper and family member.

FlowerLady

Kezzie said...

I'm glad you found Moose! I love the hilarious options you came up with for his name!

Ida said...

My that was quite the naming process you went through. I like Moose, it seems to fit him. Congrats on your new furry friend.