Naming that new family member can be a particularly tricky process especially when you have a large family who all have existing ideas of what your new pal’s name should be. While you can search around online and find huge lists of popular dog names what if you’re not looking for the most popular dog name and instead you’re just looking for something unique that fits your new pal? Well i’m going to start dropping posts here and there with some unique name choices for your newest family member!

- Atticus – Remember Atticus Finch from “To Kill A Mocking Bird”?

- Forbes – Looking for some new wealth in the family? Try the Forbes Lists!

- Arleigh – So named for the Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers.

- Inigo – A fan of the Princess Bride? Why not try Inigo as a name?

- Holden – A la “Catcher in the Rye”

- Tiffy – Got a pampered pooch? Just think of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”!

- Jeeves – “Oh Jeeves?!” Got a pup that follows you everywhere like a butler?

- Seuss – Who doesn’t love Dr. Seuss?

- Sam Spade – The two don’t have to be used together but if you have a pup who’s a real investigator then you have yourself a Sam Spade a la “The Maltese Falcon”!

- Darcy – Got a real looker? How about naming him after Mr. Darcy?

- Tilly – Have a shy girl on your hands? Tilly might just fit!

Tabitha – Got a bewitching sort of girl?

A few years ago I signed up with a rescue organization and applied to adopt a German Shepherd dog as a sibling for Jet as well as another child for myself. Upon filling in the application to adopt Mikey I was informed that I would need to have a home visit before I could be approved to adopt any of the rescue dogs from this organization, while I had absolutely nothing to worry about the concept of a stranger judging my ability to care for a dog based on my home had me worried that perhaps they would see something I would not. The basic fact of the matter, however, is that if you are like me – the type of person who refers to their dog as a child and spoils them rotten then you have nothing to worry about.

While the concept of a home visit is daunting and you are bound to worry about being rejected as a good dog owner, the truth is that the volunteers who are there for their rescue dog’s interests. It is a rescue volunteers job to investigate homes, to make sure that you’re really who you say you are and that your home is a safe place for your potential new housemate. You would be surprised how many hoarders or dog fighters will try to apply to rescue dogs simply to neglect and eventually kill them and so the rule of home visits came in to play and stayed in play. Home visits also help to match your home with a dog that is suitable for you.

Now that you know why home visits exist you should know what to expect. When our home visit came around you can bet your bottom dollar that I spent the previous day cleaning my house from top to bottom. When our home visit volunteer showed up she was just like any normal dog lover, she didn’t judge my home and she didn’t judge me. When she first walked in to our home she didn’t mind that Jet barked at her for the first five minutes of her visit, she simply waited for him to warm up to her and once he did she introduced herself to him. Our home visit did not include upstairs (this may vary with visits) although you can bet i’d spent the day cleaning upstairs as well! We showed our volunteer around the downstairs as well as the outside of our home and we chatted about our love for dogs as well as what we would be doing to make our new family member feel at home. The questions we answered were simple and common sense questions to any dog lover and it became apparent to me that the home visit really was to get to know us and to make sure we were who we said we were on our application.

In short, if you have a home visit planned and are pulling your hair out over what to expect – calm down. A home visit really is a breeze! And for those of you who are wondering about Mikey, we did get Mikey as a member of our family; however, unfortunately I suffered an extreme reaction to him and he had to go back home to his foster mom. Losing Mikey broke my heart; however, it was one more lesson in doing an infinite amount of research in a particular breed before bringing your new dog home.