Hi Mike,

>Saving the best for last, on Friday Allie and I went to look at some golden retriever puppies and I bought one of them on the spot.

Good luck - but I hope you got a plan for situations forcing you to live away from home during the week...

>The one we chose is female and one of the reddest of the litter.

There you go again showing your leftist streak again colour-coded ;-))

>... is pronounced the same way as that of my recent ex-girlfriend's daughter. No reconciliation is expected or being pursued by either of us but it's still too uncomfortably close. I can just imagine that conversation -- "You named your dog after my daughter?" No thanks.

I know that I am very reserved about putting what I consider private information somewhere on the net -
but especially if it concerns 3rd persons, names and personal relationships...
I haven't really connected to the FB mindset, as can be seen by my picture here ;-)

Still, you might rethink the scope of information offered - you cannot retract,
only ask for forgiveness - a situation I try not to enter.

all the best with your new dog

thomas