Name This Dog

It would seem that our merry band has increased by one.

My wife finished all of the paperwork and legal wrangling and brought home a new addition. He’s a schnauzer who was rescued by animal protection services from a puppy mill where he had been kept in a crate as a stud dog for six years. He’s had virtually no human contact or warmth, so he is understandably skittish and not sure if he belongs here or what he should be doing. Before coming to my house he spent a couple of days at the vet’s office getting his teeth taken care of, shots, a general checkup and a bath.

The problem is, we think he needs a name. During his incarceration it seems that he was never given one. The workers at the rescue had been calling him, alternately, “Salty” or “Mr. Whiskers.” Frankly, I find both of those choices intolerable and he shows no signs of responding to either. I’m kind of stuck, though. We’ve never been terribly inventive when it comes to pet names. Our last dog who passed away was formally named “Kenya” but most often she was just called “Dog.” Our Basset Hound’s name is Mr. Basset. Perhaps you could suggest an appropriate name for this little fellow? I’ll check on any suggestions later. For now I need to go convince him to come out from behind the sofa. (*sigh*)