Yes, you're thinking it, we've heard it. Droopy the long, lean, hyperspastic energy vortex covered in fur isn't what you think of when you hear the name 'Droopy.' At this time, we are prepared to jointly accept responsibility for naming our dog, although sometimes Mark tries to put all of the blame on Amy.

It all started innocently on a bright sunny day in October. We had been looking at all kinds of dogs and doing all kinds of research on what kind of dog we might want to adopt. We saw a pair of beautiful border collies at the animal shelter, but after going home and reading about them we were afraid they would be too energetic for us so we waffled, and they were adopted out.

We went back the next Saturday to see if any new dogs had arrived, and it was love at first sight. There, in the first cage, was a 6-month-old black dog with long fur and floppy ears. We glanced at his papers, saw that his name was Droopy, and went to ask about him. It turns out that he had just been brought in and there is a 3-day waiting period, but the woman at the desk asked if we wanted to put our names down as first priority for the dog. A little hesitant (you aren't allowed to even take them out into the yard or anything), we figured we could always decide no later, so we went ahead and put our names down.

We waited through the weekend, but they were closed on Sunday and Monday, so the 3-day waiting period (three days in which they are open to give owners a chance to reclaim the dogs), actually extended until Wednesday. We took him into the play yard and let him run around with Joker, a black lab he had been housed with. Droopy was clearly very shy and afraid of us, but was also very friendly with his dog pal, so Mark figured he'd come around eventually. In short, after a few months of planning and research on what type of dog would be best suited for us, we threw it all out the window and went for a mixed breed mutt. Several people had inquired about him in the meantime, so if we hadn't put our names down for top priority earlier, we probably never would have gotten to know Droopy at all.

Oh right, you wanted to know where his name came from. As it turns out, the name slot on his paperwork had been left blank, because he was a field stray with no identification. The line below the name, his official ear type, was designated as being "Droopy."