The Brittany is coming! The Brittany is coming!

She's coming by car, so should that be one lantern or two? Hee.

We're arranging with Foster Dad for the delivery of the delightful Dog Currently Known as Rowan. His schedule depending, we'll be welcoming her over the next three days. We've bought the supplies will need right away -- crate, leash, bowls, food, treats, etc. -- and we're making things ready for her.

But we still don't have a name for her. So I've created a quiz and posted it below. I think it should show the results after you've taken it, but I've never done this before, so I may come back here and edit this post if it doesn't work.

The names we're thinking of include: Rosie, Poppy, Pippi, Birdie, Hildy, Gertie, Ruby, and Lucy. (Almost all pets in my family and Bullock's have had people names, btw.)

Anyway, before you vote, there are a few things you should know. First of all, here are two more pictures of Rowan (from the rescue agency website -- we don't have our own yet):




As you can see, she's a roan Brittany -- hence her name. And in these pictures she has the stance and alertness of the bird dog that she was bred to be.

Other things you should know: I've read that dogs are more likely to respond to two-syllable names, and that they particularly respond to the the "ee" sound. I don't know how true this is, but I've used it as a guide in picking names. I don't know if Rowan already responds to her current name, which she has had for only about 2 months. If she does and we still really want to change it, that makes "Rosie" the best option.

Bullock is a red-head himself, and he's Swedish-American on both sides of his family -- hence Pippi. Bullock and I are both fans of Lord of the Rings, especially Bullock, and Rosie, Poppy, and Hildy are all Hobbit names -- appropriate for a small fuzzy creature. (Rosie was the beloved of Sam Gamgee and Poppy and Hildy were in the family trees in the appendices.) Also, we have a weird running joke about the actress Poppy Montgomery. Then again, poppies are the flower of memorials to the war dead in Britain, so maybe it's not the right name for a dog, even a reddish colored one.

Birdie is a variant of Brigid/Brigit, and so it has medieval connections, as well as a Gaelic language origin (suitable for a Brittany). And, of course, she's a bird dog. Hildy is both a Hobbit name and potentially a reference to Hildegard von Bingen.

Ruby and Lucy have red associations (as in the jewel and I Love Lucy).

And Gertie was one of the original names I thought of when thinking of dog names in general, long before Rowan was the dog of choice. (If we'd gotten a boy dog, Gus was Bullock's name of choice.)

So enter you opinion below, or make other suggestions in the comments (and also vote for "none of the above"). I can't say that we'll use the name that wins the most votes, but I'm still interested in what you think! (ETA: I voted once just to see it work, but it still showed all choices as 0%. Hm. Well, if that happens to you, feel free to express your opinion in the comments!)

ETA 2: Stand by while I replace the currently crappy Quibblo poll with one from Poll Daddy and see if that works better....Ah, much better.