Puppy

So you know I've been angling towards getting a dog. Yesterday Robin, for whom I need a better title than "the mother of my son-in-law" or "my daughter's mother-in-law" took me to the County Animal Shelter and we looked at the dogs and I saw a dog with the characteristics I want so I put down the money and tomorrow she's available.

It was not love at first sight. It was "I can fall in love with this dog."

First, the things about her that are not what I was looking for: she's a puppy! I was looking for an adult dog. I was also looking for a dog who, if she turns out to be a ratter, could kill a rat with one snap of the jaw instead of having to mess around: she has a smallish muzzle (but not small in proportion to her size, not a tiny face or a mushed-in snout: it's a normal dog muzzle and she will breathe normally). But she won't be a puppy for long, and I have no idea whether she'll be a ratter. She's part chihuahua, which shows in her bark (though she isn't a big barker). She does that weird little howly chihuahua bark. But mostly she just huffs.

Now, the things about her that are what I was looking for: she's lively, energetic, playful, independent-minded and yet friendly and affectionate, engaged, and smart. At six months she will chase a ball and bring it back, and that's special. She jumps a lot, which I'll have to teach her not to do, but it's not a bad sign in a six-month-old, from my point of view.  A puppy who jumps a lot has energy, is eager, and is just asking to be taught tricks.  So I figure I'll give her some jumping tricks to do and teach her not to jump just for sheer exuberance.She almost comes when called, which is great considering she hasn't been taught that yet. She orients to the person she thinks is "hers" before a stranger, but she pays attention to anybody. I'm not looking for a one-woman dog.

Notice the only things I mentioned in terms of appearance so far was her face, and that only in terms of function. I wasn't looking for appearance, though I knew for sure that any dog who reminded me of Truffle in looks as well as behavior would have an edge,. And she does, a bit. She doesn't have a barrel chest or a broad head, but she has a long body and half-flopped ears and expressive eyes. She's blond, with amazing red-orange eyelashes. Of course she sheds a lot. I'm resigned.
( here's the picture Robin took at the shelter: )

She comes with the name Nala, which Keith points out is from the female lion in The Lion King. And so therefore I think I'd like to change her name to something not Disney. I also prefer names that are not human names. Any ideas?

edit:What do you think of Žlutá? It means "yellow" and it is not a human name, unlike Zlata. It is pronounced "Zhluta."

hey guys guess what I did? I did!

So I have two bikes, right? One goes on the trainer and it's a regular mountain bike and I have to struggle to get my leg over the bar.

The other is a folder and it's step-through and kind of upright and Zack doesn't approve of it much because he thinks upright is bad for one';s back. Maybe it is when you ride hard, but of course I don't Do you know what I'm about to say? Of course you do!

I got on Red Bike--the folder--and I rode it right around the block until I ran out of places I would ride without a helmet because I wasn't expecting to go more than back and forth in front of my own house so I didn't put a helmet on.

Well.

That was easy. I'm icing my leg now but only on general principles.

What this means, is it means I am free to go roving when Zack has the car. It means I can ride a bike to the farmer's market and all around downtown. It means also that my leg is really truly making progress and I'm going to be a mobile little thing.

Oh also I'm putting my hands in my pockets going upstairs except when I'm tired. This is not so much to keep my hands off the railing, though it has that effect, but to keep me from hiking my shoulders and limping, and to make me put my weight solidly on each foot. I'm feeling kind of smug because I dreamed it up myself.

Note to Nick: no, I won't be bringing my bike on to BART.