Bosco's AKC Registration Name

First, a little background:

- American Kennel Club Registry names are limited to 30 characters, including spaces and punctuation.

- Bosco's Mum's name is Mystical Spirit Arrow; his Papa is Bronco's Royal Joust. Their names were chosen because of their human family's interest in medieval history.

- Their litter, which included the future Bosco, was born on Halloween.

In deciding on Bosco's full, formal AKC name, we want to continue the medieval naming tradition, while celebrating his Halloween birthday. Consequently, as a candidate AKC Registration Name, we propose:

Baron Bosco Trick-or-Treat

Remember that in British peerage, while the Baron is the lowest of the ranks of nobility, it was a group of rebellious barons who, in a.d. 1215 at Runnymede, forced King John to acceptance of the Magna Charta.

Anybody have any thoughts? You can leave your comments below, or by e-mail.

26 Days Old

Received new pix last night from Lisa Diehl.

I think the one on the right is saying, "Who you callin' 'dawg'?".

The one on the left is saying, "Now cool it, guys, there's no reason to get hostile."

For more pictures, go to Lisa's site at Chocolate Labs, or click her link in the left sidebar.

Marguerite's Decorations

While I have been watching football the past couple of days, here's what Marguerite has been doing.

[Click on each picture for larger view.]

Puppy Name

We have tentatively settled on a name for the new baby. How does Bosco sound? I'm sure everyone remembers the chocolate syrup from childhood.

There's another, less well known, connotation to the name. A Google search for "Bosco" reveals that there's a Saint John Bosco. Actually, in Italian, Giovanni Melchoir Bosco (Bosco is Italian for "Forest"), who lived from 1815 to 1888, was canonized in 1934. One of "Don" Bosco's stories, in his memoirs, tells of a mysterious huge dog who appeared at times of danger or stress during Don Bosco's life, variously saving him from bandits, guiding him home when lost, and other interventions, then disappearing when the crisis no longer required its attention. [See Link, St. John Bosco's Dog]

Seinfeld fans will probably remember an episode in which the chocolate syrup Bosco figures highly. [See Link, Seinfeld Bosco Script]

Anyway, we hit on the name Bosco because of its connection with chocolate. The mysterious (angelic?) dog in Saint John Bosco's life is just an added serendipitous touch.

So unless something happens to change our minds, Bosco he shall be.

Lisa Diehl Chocolate Labradors

Note that, on the sidebar to the left, I've added a list of links to web sites and blogs that I look at from time to time. Lisa and Scott Diehl are the breeders who own our new puppy's parents (and consequently, him until we pay the adoption fee and bring him home). The pictures I've posted so far were taken by Lisa and Scott. All their pictures can be seen on their web page, Chocolate Labs.

Deposit Made

We've made a deposit on a male from this litter, born on Halloween. We are scheduled to make our selection the second week in December. He will be able to come home with us the week before Chrstmas, when he will be seven weeks old.

Sparring Partners

Three Weeks Old