Dog Tales, V

Decker

“It's hard not to immediately fall in love with 

a dog who has a good sense of humor.”
― Kate DiCamillo

On the day we moved into our house in Nashville, a litter of Welsh Terrier puppies entered the world in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I was, at that time, a member of Welsh-L, a group mailing list for Welsh Terrier owners. Judith Anspach, owner of Merrylegs Welsh Terriers and that new brood of puppies, was also a member of the list.  Judy and I became friends, and I mentioned I would love to own and show a dog.  Not long after, I agreed to co-own one of the males with Judy.

Thirteen weeks later, I hurried to Nashville International Airport to pickup my new puppy.  His flight was due to touch down at 1:30, and I didn't want to be late.  I arrived at the airport at 1:10 or so and immediately hit a traffic jam. Every car in every lane stopped where it was. We waited and waited. Waited. Ten minutes. Waited. Twenty minutes. Waited. Finally, at 1:40 or so, traffic started again. I rushed to the cargo terminal, parked, and ran in.

Behind the cargo agent's desk sat a blue dog crate.  I know I talked to the agent and signed a paper, but I don't remember doing any of that.  I do remember going to the crate, opening it, and cradling a scared little puppy.  He had thrown up all over himself numerous times.  I carried him in my right arm and the crate in my left hand to the car.  All the way home, he nuzzled the hollow of my neck.  I was in love immediately.

Decker, Kasey, and I in Nashville

Kasey, by then 13 months old, was interested in the little guy when I brought him home, but I'm not sure she was too thrilled.  Her only-child status was gone in the blink of an eye. However, she took on the role of a caregiver, and whenever he whimpered, she ran over to him.  That evening, we put him in his crate, and he started crying.  She took one of her toys and pushed it on the crate door in an attempt, I believe, to comfort him. I cried.

We once again faced a name dilemma. Mike suggested Decker, the name of a Wire Fox Terrier one of our friends had owned years before, or Dexter.  I liked Decker but not Dexter. Jason suggested Donald. I did not like Donald. "How about Chang?" he asked.  "Good grief, no!" I replied.  Chang was worse than Donald.  "He's Decker," I decided. Michael was glad; Jason was not.

Since Decker was going to be a show dog, I had to come up with a registered name for him. That is not quite as easy as it sounds because, believe it or not, the AKC has rules for naming dogs.  The names usually include the kennel name plus the dog's "official" name.  In addition to a bunch of little guidelines, the AKC limits the number of characters in a name to 50 (including spaces and apostrophes).

I played with a variety of names:  a) Merrylegs Black and Decker (26 characters!).  b) Merrylegs Hit the Deck (22!).  c) Merrylegs All Hands on Deck (27!).  d) Merrylegs Cut the Deck (22!).  I proposed those four names to my friends on Welsh-L.  Everyone weighed in with why I should name him Hit the Deck or Cut the Deck or All Hands on Deck. 

"Cut the Deck is a homage to Las Vegas," a few people said.  Mike liked that one.

"All Hands on Deck is good, like a judge putting his hands on the dog during a show," others said.  Another show-dog owner preferred that one.

"Hit the Deck is so appropriate for rambunctious terriers," my friendly terrier-lovers thought.

Kasey and Decker

No one liked Black and Decker.

"Why," most people asked me, "would you name him after a tool company?"

"Where in the name of heaven did you come up with that name?"

Judy, God love her, preferred Cut the Deck, but she left the decision up to me.  In the end, I chose Merrylegs Black and Decker.
Here's the thing.  I loved going to the Black and Decker store in the outlet malls.  "It's my favorite store," I insisted.  In addition, the name was a play on words in a way.  Judy told me that Decker wore a black ribbon while he was with the rest of the litter (Breeders put a different colored ribbon, cord, band, etc. on each puppy so they can identify each one.).

I thought the hard part of owning a show dog—naming him—was out of the way.  Little did I know.