Well, that didn’t take long:
Our application was approved Friday afternoon, and when I asked if we could pick her up next Friday, after my three-day trip, I was told that would be fine, as long as we didn’t mind maybe losing her if some other qualified party arrived in the interim. WHAT? NOOOOOO. We came down to get her the very next day, and as of the weekend, we’re now Wendy’s people. Although we’re not sure whether she’s going to stay Wendy. I like the name, but Alan is taken with this idea that a dog’s name should include fricatives, sibilants and a long E on the end. For some reason he likes “Lucy,” which has only one of those. I was thinking maybe Suzy. And then, last night, Alan walked into the house after a walk with her and said, “I think her name is Gidget.”
Maybe it is. For now, I’m trying not to use “Wendy” quite so often, just in case she ends up Desdemona or something.
And even though this is just day two, and she’s still very much a newcomer to the house, she seems to be settling admirably. No accidents, little barking, not even an overabundance of the infamous JRT energy. She’s lively, sure, but as you can see from the picture, she’s also pretty mellow. We had dinner guests last night, when she’d been here only a few hours, and she was an absolute champ. Slept all night in her crate in the bedroom without so much as a whimper. Maybe she’s just enjoying the silence, and the air conditioning, and the carpets.
I’m so happy to have a dog again. Someone to talk to when I’m here by myself.
So, bloggage:
Edward Snowden, on the run again. To Ecuador?
The Taliban wipes out a mountain-climbing party in Pakistan.
Finally, another picture, from the Friday-afternoon freeway:
It’s a bakery, based in Mexico. Which must explain a lot.
Bimbo, Gidget, and four days of 90-degree weather ahead. What’s it like in your part of the world?
brian stouder said on June 24, 2013 at 12:36 am
A Wendy by any other name, would be as sweet, eh?
And if she’s a Gidget, well that’s good stuff too!
Superb news, indeed
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Dexter said on June 24, 2013 at 12:37 am
Our house cat sometimes likes to escape, and he did today when I opened the door to take the dogs out. In the heat of the day, I was traipsing through weeds in the neighbor’s junky yards trying to locate him. A tattooed neighbor’s grandson helped me, but he just scared him. Finally I had to take a break, and as I was garaging my bike, there he was, on the cool cement floor.
Don’t rush into naming your new doggie…I took a month before naming my Labbie “Pogo”. She was jumping straight up , like she was on a pogo stick…voila!
And, as Brian Williams always says, and would say if he saw Wendy, “Now that’s a GOOD dog!”
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Deborah said on June 24, 2013 at 12:54 am
I hope she doesn’t end up Gidget. When you first showed the photo on Friday I wasn’t crazy about the name Wendy, but it kinda grew on me. Of course it’s not my decision at all, don’t know why I’m even offering an opinion. She is cute.
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crazycatlady said on June 24, 2013 at 2:21 am
LUCKY DOG! By the way, there is a Bimbo bakery factory in Elkhart, Indiana! They even have an outlet store. Indiana useless factoid #276.
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ROGirl said on June 24, 2013 at 4:40 am
She knows how lucky she is to have arrived in Grosse Pointe from the mean streets of Detroit.
In honor of Pete the Pup from the Little Rascals, what about Petra? or even Darla?
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David C. said on June 24, 2013 at 5:50 am
All our cats lost their prison names when we got them so instead of Malcolm, Lyric, and Simon we have Gus, Trudy, and Petey.
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alex said on June 24, 2013 at 7:28 am
Gorgeous pup! And that muted light green with the bright white trim looks exactly like the color scheme I chose for the two larger bedrooms in our investment property. Still have flecks of it in my hair and a smear on my elbow.
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Mindy said on June 24, 2013 at 7:34 am
What a sweet girl, you’re so fortunate to get a pup who can adjust so well so quickly. My first dog, Marty, was a rescue. The people who kept him until they could find him a home referred to him as Muttly. He began to understand it was his name, so he got the name Marty to keep from confusing him. Wasn’t my first choice. I’m sure whatever name your pup will have will suit her well.
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Dorothy said on June 24, 2013 at 8:34 am
I am so glad your new dog is home!! I bet Kate is anxious to meet her. It’s funny how Alan seemed so confident that she’ll be Gidget. Just like when you’re buying a house, you just know when it’s the right one.
The Taliban also launched rockets last week into the same base where my son is, and killed four Americans on the base. It didn’t get a lot of publicity in the news, but it sure got our attention. For about 15 minutes at the office on Wednesday I fought off a major meltdown, even though I was told right up front that his entire battalion was fine and accounted for. I had been thinking it was seeming like he was going to have an easy time. When he’s working he’s on a computer and has a good Internet connection, and he’ll pop up with a Hi, how ya doin’? in Facebook chat nearly every day. He’s also applied to graduate school. He’s going to begin online classes while he’s over there. Which leads me to believe he must be in a very secure area. Or mostly secure, as last week’s attack tells us.
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Prospero said on June 24, 2013 at 8:49 am
I’ve got a Mexican soccer jersey with Bimbo writ large in rubberized letters, But it’s the Monterrey part that gets me free cervezas at local watering holes. I’m kinda with ROGirl on the name, but the black patch is on the wrong eye, and it was Petey.
Snowden’s going to Ecuador? No. I’m going to Ecuador. I will beat his ass if he’s there when I show up. And the Taliban wins over the government sponsored rescue when there are mouths of children to be fed and Harrison Ford’s copter needs fuel.
At lunch yesterday, I found out my sisinlaw Lesa has a new car, a Leaf. This woman is a great driver, a little scary but really good. She traded a Mini-Cooper and then went back to buy the Mini back. I have done a coupla road trips with Lesa in the Mini, and it is part of her personality to me. Anyway, the Leaf takes her to work and back and she plugs it in in the garage. Sweet. No gasoline. Who wouldn’t like that deal?
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Julie Robinson said on June 24, 2013 at 8:50 am
We had a lovely little black cat named Lucy, though being a cat name may not work in its favor. Whatever you call her, she is already bringing you joy, and you have saved her life, so it’s a pretty balanced equation.
Hot and humid here too. Right now I’m avoiding going out to water before I head to the office.
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Prospero said on June 24, 2013 at 8:53 am
Alex@7: Jesus, RUGay?
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Pam said on June 24, 2013 at 8:56 am
I like the name Wendy, it just seems to fit. Tell Alan I said, NO GIDGET. You know it will be shortened to Gidg, just like in the movie. She’s a cute dog. Wendy, wendy, wendy…
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Kim said on June 24, 2013 at 9:01 am
Wonderful news on the dog’s new home. She looks like a Wendy to me but, as with children, the parents get to decide the name.
Humid, warm and about to rain in Hot-as-hellville, SC, aka Columbia, where I am working for a few days.
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Scout said on June 24, 2013 at 9:03 am
I like Wendy too, and for some reason she looks like a Wendy. Whatever her name ends up being, she sure is a cutie. I’m so happy for you and for her.
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Peter said on June 24, 2013 at 9:15 am
Congrats on the new family member! I can understand Alan’s desire for a dog name; my sister named her dog Kika, which happens to be our cousin’s name, and while it’s a great name for a dog it made for an awkward holiday…
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Bitter Scribe said on June 24, 2013 at 9:41 am
What’s really funny about Bimbo, if you’re an immature person like me, is that they’re a major sponsor of Mexican pro soccer. Since soccer jerseys tend to have sponsor logos plastered all over them much larger than the team crest (and what’s up with that, anyway?), it means all these macho Mexican soccer players are running around with “BIMBO” in huge letters on their shirts.
Good luck with the dog. She’s a cutie, all right.
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LAMary said on June 24, 2013 at 9:51 am
Bimbo is a big deal brand here. The Latino supermarket down the street has more Bimbo than Sara Lee or Orowheat.
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LAMary said on June 24, 2013 at 9:54 am
Add me to the no Gidget list. I’m ok with Wendy. If you name her Gidget you’ll have to get a male friend for her name him Moondoggie. You know you don’t want that. How about Sally? As in Ride.
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brian stouder said on June 24, 2013 at 9:57 am
Well, speakin’ a bimbos, that Aunt Millie is just a common tart! And don’t let Sarah Lee fool ya – she’s a crusty bee-otch.
And don’t get me started on Little Debbie
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Colleen said on June 24, 2013 at 10:13 am
Yay for the new doggie! I am in the minority and like Gidget….
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coozledad said on June 24, 2013 at 10:20 am
In the spirit of compromise, there’s always Widget.
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coozledad said on June 24, 2013 at 10:22 am
But I’d go with Fang.
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Prospero said on June 24, 2013 at 10:32 am
Wendy broke up with Brian Wilson for no reason whatsoever. Last female pooch I had was named Morgan La Fey. Sally Ride is a good idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQyWmaTSzNs
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Connie said on June 24, 2013 at 10:35 am
All three of our rescued dogs came with names, Nelly, Dusty, and Molly. We considered changing them, but the dogs clearly knew their names. I did get a hard time from my grandmother for naming a dog – Nelly – after her sister.
I have heard that dogs hear hard vowels better. All of my dogs managed to know their names with or without a hard vowel.
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MichaelG said on June 24, 2013 at 10:39 am
A big welcome to Miss Wendy!
It’s mid 70s here and rainy. Normal is upper 80s and sun, sun, sun. Weather patterns are for sure changing.
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brian stouder said on June 24, 2013 at 10:43 am
So last night I watched Skyfall, which was semi-indecipherable – but in a spy movie, I suppose that’s to be expected. And then it sort of reminded me of our friend Mr Snowjob; and THEN I wondered if he saw that picture, too. I’m thinking our jet-setting 29 year old man-of-mystery watched Skyfall, and identified with the fallen-away secret agent man therein.
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Judybusy said on June 24, 2013 at 10:52 am
So glad you got her! I loved Wendy for a name. Our dog came with the name Rave. (Loved Dave C’s “prison name” at #6!)For years, my partner had thought we’d name our first dog Hadley, after her hometown of South Hadley in MA. A couple days before meeting the dog, we brainstormed names and picked Cora, short for Corazon, because my partner knew “She’d steal our hearts.” Luckily it fits.
All hell broke loose in Minneapolis Friday night. Hurricane force winds knocked down hundreds of trees, and getting around is still a bit challenging, with trees in the road, or power lines dangling, as I saw this morning. One of my neighbors suggested we have a potluck last night to raise morale, so I organized that. We planned to have it in the street because a large tree was blocking it. The tree was removed by the city by 3:00 Sunday, but we still blocked off the street and had a great turnout. My side of the street was without power from about 7:30 pm Friday to 12:00 Saturday, but the other side didn’t get any till 3:00 pm Sunday. Our back fence blew down, but didn’t damage any of my garden. As far as I know, there weren’t any injuries.
In other news, Maggie Jochild is doing much better with a BiPap machine, and hopes to go home today. It turned out she’d been chronically low on oxygen for a long time. I will also send out a call for help: some days before this scare, her only competant caregiver gave notice, citing lack of a living wage. She’s going to college, and just can’t do it on the minimum wage. Maggie has worked out a way to retain her, but needs $300 a month to close the gap. This woman really did save Maggie’s life last week, by calling 911 when she was so disoriented due to lack of oxygen. If 30 people pledge $10 a month, she’s covered. It will be done via Paypal. Email a pledge to tamminatorfund@gmail.com. The caregiver’s name is Tammi, but she goes by the Tamminator in Maggie’s circle because She’s. That. Awesome. Thank you so much!
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Deborah said on June 24, 2013 at 10:52 am
Maybe you could change it to Windy as in:
Who’s peekin’ out from under a stairway
Calling a name that’s lighter than air
Who’s bending down to give me a rainbow
Everyone knows it’s Windy
Who’s tripping down the streets of the city
Smilin’ at everybody she sees
Who’s reachin’ out to capture a moment
Everyone knows it’s Windy
by the Association
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adrianne said on June 24, 2013 at 10:52 am
Dorothy, prayers for your son to return safely. How agonizing the news from Afghanistan must be for you.
I love the new doggie Derringer! But everyone knows she’s Wendy.
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Nancy said on June 24, 2013 at 10:56 am
Bimbo is huge in our part of Georgia.
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Mark P said on June 24, 2013 at 10:57 am
Classic Jack Russel look, and very nice.
Dog names? Must be short. Imagine yourself screaming the name when she runs away. Can you see yourself screaming “WENDYYYYYY”? That’s how one of my old adoptees lost the name Sugar. No way I was screaming “SUGARRRR” outside at night.
We had a “Z” thing going for a while from our dog Zeus and cat Zoe. Next came Zeke (Far Side reference: “Hey Zeke, got any magazines?”). The stray we kept for a while was Zeppelin, now on to a new family and a new name. I hope to get another doberman sometime, and am not sure we’ll stay with Z-names. But if you can come up with a theme, the name can be more meaningful.
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James M said on June 24, 2013 at 10:59 am
Bimbo is a big, international, company now. Their brands include a lot of old-line ‘American’ bakeries, including Sara Lee, Orowheat, Entemann’s, and a bunch more. Thomas’ English Muffins is the most incongruous, I think. English Muffins from a Mexican bakery, with U.S. headquarters in Pennsylvania. Gotta love it…
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Basset said on June 24, 2013 at 11:11 am
Our recently deceased rescue golden came to us named Maggie and we left that alone… both Mrs. b. and I say no Gidget.
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LAMary said on June 24, 2013 at 11:23 am
When I adopted Max it was determined quickly that a name change might really confuse him. He was not quick to adapt to his new home, much less a a new name. Smokey was named Golden when I got him, which is an odd name for a black Lab. Poppy was a stray, so her named was chosen by the household. I liked Sunshine or Honey, but the boys vetoed those, so we went with the California state flower.
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bacioni said on June 24, 2013 at 11:34 am
I think the name “Gidget” is adorable — she kind of looks like a Gidget. Too cute! Congratulations to all of you!
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Dexter said on June 24, 2013 at 1:13 pm
*sigh* Why are we even discussing this? The dog Formerly Known as Wendy shall forevermore be called Bimbo. 🙂
The best athlete at my high school was what some called “stocky” or “husky”. Some said he was fat. His name was Steve but early-on he picked up the nickname “Bimbo”. Steve hated that name, but just let it ride.
Eight years after high school I ran into Steve/Bimbo in a softball league. His new friends and teammates called him “Frenchy”. Alas, he was obviously descended from a long line of Germans. I asked Steve how he came to be called “Frenchy”. He wasn’t sayin’. Nunn-ya bizness.
Really, none of us can predict what Wendy will be called. It’ll just come to nance and Alan. And then, Kate will enter the door , back from Europe, and re-name her anyway.
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Dexter said on June 24, 2013 at 1:28 pm
Dog naming: In 1957 a lady pulled into our rural Kendallville, Indiana home’s driveway, toting a basketful of puppies. Mom said we could have one, and I was to pick it out. I picked out a lovable male, but Mom didn’t like him because he was solid brown. She then decided we were to have a brown pup with a perfect white neck. She also named him: Rusty.
Rusty became my dog. While rough-housing with Rusty, my brother and I would make little noises, which phonetically sounded like “aww, wah.”
There happened to be an IHL defenseman named Moe Benoit, who played for the old Toledo Blades and the Dayton Gems. So when my brother and I rough-housed with the dog, we twisted up the names, dropped the “wah” (-oit) and started calling our dog “Ben”. This is how dogs are named, I figured. Very long pathways produced final results. Also, my dog acquired nicknames. I remember calling him “Hoggus Doggus” for years.
Ben got old, but hung on until I got back from Vietnam to see me one more time. A few months later, he was gone.
Goddammitt…now I have worked myself into a gut wrenching sadness. Ben died 42 years ago.
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Prospero said on June 24, 2013 at 1:51 pm
Dexter: I miss Ben too. That post was a great short story. I’m not big on Gidget, but it’s not my business. I’d say Petey and damn the gender issues.
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Dexter said on June 24, 2013 at 2:02 pm
Thanks for the recent compliments, prospero. As Ellen Barkin’s character told Lee Baby Sims (Tom Waits) in “Down by Law”, “All anybody really wants is to have someone jerk them off a little bit, right, baby”? 🙂
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Sherri said on June 24, 2013 at 3:19 pm
Ta-Nehisi Coates on Paula Deen: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/06/the-guileless-accidental-racism-of-paula-deen/277153/
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brian stouder said on June 24, 2013 at 3:33 pm
Sherri – the article you linked to was, simply, excellent.
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mark said on June 24, 2013 at 3:51 pm
That little dog looks very happy in your home, Nancy. Good for you and your family.
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Deborah said on June 24, 2013 at 3:51 pm
And don’t miss the comments after the TNC piece, there are a lot of them, haven’t read them all yet, some are very good.
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Prospero said on June 24, 2013 at 4:07 pm
Way cool bikes.
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Prospero said on June 24, 2013 at 5:53 pm
More GOPer bullshit:
http://blueamerica.crooksandliars.com/howie-klein/house-republicans-defeat-elizabeth-war#sthash.7z86Eqhm.dpbs
How does anybody justify letting these shitheels skate without having to vote on this out in the open?
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Hattie said on June 24, 2013 at 5:54 pm
She looks like a dream dog. Lucky you!
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Diane L. said on June 24, 2013 at 7:32 pm
She is adorable! Congratulations.
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LAMary said on June 24, 2013 at 8:17 pm
Wendy has a good face. She looks smart and cheeky.
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Prospero said on June 24, 2013 at 8:29 pm
Never having actually had real jobs in the real world, Scalito Court fucks over normal people.
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beb said on June 24, 2013 at 8:36 pm
Sherri, thanks for the link, it was a very good article. In a way I feel sorry for Paula Deen. She’s a 66 year old woman of privilege born and raised in Georgia. Of course she used the N-word, but she didn’t get taken to court just for doing that. But as Ed Kilgore, also from Georgia, writing on the Washington Monthly notes that is no excuse for acting that way.
Dexter, good memories about Ben.
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Suzanne said on June 24, 2013 at 9:14 pm
Beb, I too feel kind of sorry for Paula Deen. I’m middle aged, and yes, when I was young, people commonly said all kinds of racist-y things (sadly) but hopefully we’ve all grown up and realize that words have meaning and understand the harm they caused. I didn’t get that feeling reading Paula Deen’s comments, but more of a cluelessness on her part. “Sure, I used the N-word. Everybody did but I don’t anymore!” I think that she doesn’t use racist terms now, not because it’s inherently wrong, but because it’s socially unacceptable and appearances are everything.
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Sherri said on June 24, 2013 at 10:09 pm
Deen has had the privilege of remaining clueless about her casual racism up until now. If you didn’t watch the video in the Coates article, do so; that was from a few months ago.
I don’t really feel sorry for Deen. Reality eventually smacks all of us in the face, and while it’s happening publicly for her, she’s got plenty to fall back on. I don’t revel in her fall, but I don’t feel sorry for her, either.
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Cosmo Panzini said on June 24, 2013 at 11:01 pm
Really—the neww name for your dog is staring you in the face: BIMBO
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Deborah said on June 24, 2013 at 11:02 pm
If you live to be 90ish then middle age is 45-50, Paula Deen looks a lot older than that, I’d guess mid to late 60s. I agree, I don’t feel sorry for her either, I never quite got what the attraction was.
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basset said on June 24, 2013 at 11:35 pm
Dogs aside, “Moe Benoit” may be the perfect hockey name.
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Bitter Scribe said on June 24, 2013 at 11:38 pm
BLACKHAWKS RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Bill said on June 24, 2013 at 11:49 pm
2 Stanley Cups in four years! What a great win Blackhawks!
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Deborah said on June 24, 2013 at 11:51 pm
My Chicago Facebook friends are going apeshit.
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Bob (not Greene) said on June 24, 2013 at 11:52 pm
Well that was quite a series. Edge of the seat tension from puck drop to the final horn. Word is Patrice Bergeron played today with a broken rib, torn cartilage and a separated shoulder. Only in hockey. Andrew Shaw came back bleeding on everyone after getting hit in the face with a puck. Final two goals by Bryan Bickell and Dave Bolland. That was the Blackhawks season in a nutshell. What a season. Jesus that was fun. Now it’s back to the Cubs and White Sox. The horror. The horror.
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4dbirds said on June 25, 2013 at 3:14 pm
Congratulations on your new family member.
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