OMFG, Continued...

Well...Magnus is a mother. Fritz is a grumpy uncle. Life is going to be very entertaining while we sort this all out.

Magnus is utterly besotted with the puppy. He follows him everywhere, licking his head, cleaning up his poops, hovering. It's disgusting. Yesterday evening after Snacky Time I brought everybody to the lair, and after an hour or so had to practically force Magnus to come lay down and leave that poor puppy alone. "Oh, god," I thought. "I sound like a suburban mother with too many kids and a new puppy." But seriously, the poor little guy had had a big day. All he wanted to do was lay down now, and Magnus wouldn't let him. Lick, lick, lick, hover, hover, hover, pant, pant, pant. Geez! Get a grip, dog! Show some dignity for god's sake.

Fritz, on the other hand, is offended and threatened. I was afraid he'd either be violent toward the puppy or too exuberantly welcoming - which amounts to the same thing. I let him into Gitmo yesterday afternoon with Magnus and the puppy, and he decided he wanted nothing to do with the whole sordid matter. When we went to the lair, Fritz jumped on my couch and growled if the puppy came near him. And then - he has never done this in my entire experience with him, and possibly not in his whole life - he left and spent the night outdoors. He would not share the lair with that puppy.

The puppy himself is adorable. Not shy, but not a jumping, yapping bundle of nerves, either. He's pretty fat at the moment. His paws are half as big as his head. His looks are predominantly Akita; he's got the blunt muzzle and the ears and the curled tail. Longish fur, all black except a patch of white on his chest. He's clearly very familiar with people - once he got over his initial fright he took to me right away but not in an obnoxious way. When I woke at four he wanted attention. I took him on my couch and he curled under me for a while, but then wanted back down. I brought his crate into the lair last night but didn't insist that he spend the night in it. That was a mistake; he did leave me a puddle on the floor.

I'm still torn on the name thing. Thunder, it's not out of deference I'm reluctant about "Spooner," it's just that it's been done - it feels like a Claire fanboy thing to me. I've toyed with "Booker," which is not a Firefly reference (god forbid - I'm not 16 even if that's the way I'm acting at the moment) but a shout-out to Booker Washington. Anonymous - "Remember you're going to have to yell this name over and over and over. Just something to keep in mind. :)" LOL! I got a belly laugh from that this morning. Good, very good advice indeed. Reminds me of the old rocker adage - never record a song you're not prepared to sing every night for the rest of your life.

I don't know what I'm gonna do about a name. Probably Spooner, when it comes down to it. Haven't improved on that yet, and I have to call him something.

It's going to be an entertaining day. Got a call from J last evening; my new boots came in and I need to go see if they fit. I'll want to crate up the baby and show him around the neighborhood. Normally I laze around the Lair in the morning, but it's not quite six and I'm already out in the scriptorium. Fritz is laying on his bed behind me and growling at passers-by; Magnus is following the puppy everywhere and panting protectively. The puppy is exploring his surroundings and making plans for renovation or maybe world domination. Hmm! Genghis? Khan? (Oh, god, no. I'd think of that horrible ST movie every time... No.) Aargh! Maybe something ironic, like Neutrino...