The Princesses Get Their Prince

Just cause Dad has to stay home doesn't mean he doesn't get to do something fun!  A few weeks ago we decided to go check out a littler of Rhodesian Ridgeback/Boxer pups.  Gina and I have been talking for a long time (before we even found the house) about adding a second dog to the mix.  Karma is the best dog ever. .... but she's kind of a sissy la-la.  We wanted a bigger dog that would take on more of the natural protector role (we've got a serious "neighbor issue" that I don't want to get into) that Karma just didn't feel comfortable doing.  At the same time we needed something that we knew would be good around the girls.  Now, we had an incident with a Rhodesian a while back.  Up at our cabin we were out on a walk when Karma was attacked by a Rhodesian who had been out front playing with his family.  She ended up ok, a little soar but not stitches or broken bones; it was more of a jarring emotional experience.  At the time I was pretty hot under the collar.  I was more upset about this family letting such a large dog play out front with out a leash.  In truth, I can see where the dog came from: they (and as he say it, he) had a two year old nearby that he saw himself as protecting.  Karma posed a threat, he did his job.  Later that day I saw the family (neighbors) leave with the child in the car seat, dog in the seat right next to him happily liking the little boys face.  So clearly they're good with kids (and protecting kids) but also clearly we need to keep him on a tight leash. ... literally.  All in all we've done extensive homework on the breed, met the mom (who was very nice and never showed any aggression while we were with her puppies) and I feel very confident that this will make a good addition to our household.  Anyway, we saw the pups, and we found one we really were drawn too, so we put a down payment to hold him.  As we drove home we talked about what kinds of names might be good for a boy dog to have.  The first (and most enthusiastic) was Prince Charming.  Eh. .... I'm not quite on board with that one.  Let's try more.  Silence.  Gina floated some options, I floated some options.  Nothing was sticking.  Finally I said "His name is not going to be Prince Charming, we need to think of something else."  They paused for a moment, then Arianna screamed "How about Cinderella?!" Prince Charming it is!  Well last night, the breeder called to say the puppies were ready to be picked up.  A week early.  Nothing for me to do with the noise makers out of the house this week, so I headed off to pick him up.  We had some male bonding time and he is every bit as sweet as we anticipated.  I think we'll keep him ;). So, some day in the near future, when Charming manages to escape, I'll be going door to door asking my neighbors if they've seen my Prince Charming.  Fantastic.