Sunday, April 30, 2006

Doggie...

So that's that...we've now begun the process of ordering a Coton de Tulear. I did a one hour phone interview with the breeder this evening, which was a bit surreal. She's a very nice lady, quite informative and obviously cares more about the dogs than she does making a buck. Which is a great thing. I've just never gone through the experience of being interview to make sure I was good enough to own a dog.

Anyway, the contracts are signed and will be sent tomorrow. I just sent the deposit.

The puppy should be born around May 20. We'll be getting him around August 15. As soon as I get some pictures, I'll put them up on the blog.

We have decreed that, yes, Colette gets official Godbitch status and, should anything ever happen to us, is responsible for the spirtual upraising of our dog. Also thanks to Joe Gormn, who left a note on the blog saying he has a Coton and that I should give him a call. Further proving it's a small world, Joe lives about a 10 minute walk away from where I grew up in St. John's. My dad delivers his mail.

And now, at the risk of opening the Gates of Hell, begins the naming contest. Granted, any name you suggest might go right out the window once we meet him. Dogs sometimes just name themselves. But feel free to throw out names anyway. What we have right now is Dumbledore, Fezzik (yes, we appreciate the irony of naming this dog after Andre the Giant's character in The Princess Bride) and qigi (sp?), which I believe is the Inuktitut word for "come here."

That last one, just for the record, was Cathy's idea. The first two were mine

We're also looking at different words for snow in Inuktitut. However, since I have some reservations about The Living Dictionary, I think we will consult with various Inuit coworkers to make sure we have the right word. That last think we want is the think we have named the dog after a gentle snowfall and it turns out the word is actually an obscenity or something. Besides, there are so many dilects up here, naming a dog in Inuktitut has its risks.

By the way, while Living Dictionary comes back with almost 300 words when you type in "snow", the word that just seems to mean "snow" and not "soft snow" or "snow rod" or whatever, is "Aput". Which, I have to admit, doesn't grab me as great name.

And, as I've just discovered, that when you type in "come here" into Living Dictionary, you get "Uvunngapuq". So yeah, meaybe not an Inuktitut name.

Anyway, we shall see. I find myself looking forward to getting the dog, if for no other reason than Cathy has something else to pick on.

Currently Playing
Show Your Bone - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Getthepuppy getthepuppy getthepuppy. Yippee!

So you set up the webcam in August for frequent puppy visits, yes?

For the record I hereby announce my objection to any name coming from science fiction/fantasy (movies and books), comic book geekiness or other popular fandom (movies and books) unless it's particularly obscure. It's overdone. Tired.

tanker belle said...

Does this mean we start referring to Colette as the Lady Dogbitch or M'Lady Dogbitch?

You're going to give the dog brain damage if you name it "come here" - how do you expect it to "go over there" or "go fetch"? I'm with Cathy on the Inuit name though...she could ask some of her kids at school for ideas (if she hasn't already). Of course, having asked kids, you should check with adults for obscene words.

Melissa said...

Glad to hear about the doggie selection process! I was going to direct you to this article:

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200604/200604270019.html

to try to be of assistance, but it looks like you got it covered. Lucky you, poor Robotic Doggies.

Have a good one ... :)

The Mommy said...

Oh no no no - if it's a fench breed, you'll need a *french* name - I assume you've ordered a male?

Anonymous said...

Hi Cathy and Craig. I am so happy that you are getting a dog. Now Dan and Lynda won't feel left out as they will have their first grand puppy. Yeah!!! As for a name, I'd say wait until you see him, and you will know!! I'd vote for something plain and simple like Buddy!!!
Marlene

towniebastard said...

Colette can be referred to in any way she wishes, although Godbitch seems to be settling in. Although I don't know what a "godfather" would be called, or who would be up for it.

There will be no webcam as I refuse to spend money on a webcam for a dog. That gets dangerously to the point of being crazy.

And OM, it is a male and it will not be a french name. No way, no how.

I strongly suspect that the dog's unofficial name is going to be "bozo" since that's what I called the cat all the time. Plus, the discription of the dog's personality includes the phrase "clown-like."

Anonymous said...

"Aputi" is snow. And come here would be Kaigi (hard g) or come here NOW would be "maani"

If I may be so bold, the dog kind of looks like a puff of cotton grass, so maybe you could use the inuktitut name for that. I can check with my favourite inuktitut linguist if you'd like.

towniebastard said...

Sure, why not. Thanks Claire...

We were looking at some of the other words for snow, but if Living Dictionary is right, many of them are much longer than we would like. If we go with Inuktitut, short and simple is the way to go.